Comparing mean and single automated office blood pressure measurement in a US ambulatory care setting

Accurate blood pressure measurement is essential to appropriately diagnose and treat hypertension. Blood pressure is usually measured by taking a single automated office blood pressure (AOBP) reading, but there are newer, fully automated devices that calculate the mean of several blood pressure readings.A quality improvement initiative was conducted in a US ambulatory care setting to determine whether there were differences in the accuracy of blood pressure measurement when measuring mean AOBP versus single AOBP. A population of 126 patients attending a transitional care clinic at an urban hospital were randomly assigned to receive mean AOBP measurement at the beginning of their appointment, at the end of their appointment, or not at all. This randomised prospective evaluation did not find conclusive evidence regarding the use of mean AOBP measurement versus single AOBP measurement. However, using a fully automated device that calculates mean AOBP may be useful in busy clinical settings, allowing nurses to spend more time on other aspects of their role such as patient education and care coordination.