Anesthesiology
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Comparison of arterial tonometry with radial artery catheter measurements of blood pressure in anesthetized patients.
Arterial tonometry has been introduced for continuous noninvasive measurement of blood pressure. The accuracy of this method depends on the performance of two components: a piezoelectric crystal array and an oscillometric cuff. This study evaluates overall performance of arterial tonometry in terms of the performance of these two components by comparing it with simultaneous recording of blood pressure from an intraarterial catheter. ⋯ Discrepancies in blood pressure readings by arterial tonometry versus intraarterial measurement result from both the piezoelectric crystal array and the oscillometry used for calibration. Accuracy for individual measurement is inferior to oscillometry alone. The ability to detect significant changes of blood pressure more rapidly than with oscillometry alone is limited by the accuracy of the piezoelectric crystal component but is enhanced by the reduced interval between measurements.