[Blood pressure during pediatric anesthesia. Four methods of peroperative indirect measurement. Comparison (author's transl)]

Abstract

During general anesthesia blood pressure levels have been recorded for 35 children (10 aged 1-12 months, 15 aged 12-24 months, 10 more than 24 months). Four different methods of indirect measurement were used: pulse palpation, flush technique, ausculatory determination by mean of a conventional sphygmomanometer, Doppler ultrasonic technique by mean of arteriosonde. The pulse palpation is the easiest method at any age, during pediatric anesthesia but does not give values of diastolic blood pressure. The flush technique quite convenient for infants less than 24 months gives values lying midway between systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Ausculatory determination in operating room is difficult especially with small infants less than 12 months. During anesthesia longer than thirty minutes, monitoring blood pressure by Doppler ultrasound sphygmomanometer can be fairly available. Even in case of difficulties to detect clear signals of systolic and diastolic blood pressure the sphygmomanometer can be used to obtain blod pressure determination by flush technique or pulse palpation.