Comparison of invasive and noninvasive blood pressure measurements in anaesthetized horses using the Surgivet V9203.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the bias and precision of noninvasive versus invasive blood pressure measurements obtained using the Surgivet V9203 in anaesthetized horses; to compare these with the current American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Hypertension Consensus Panel (AHCP) and Veterinary Blood Pressure Society (VBPS) recommendations; and to investigate whether noninvasive blood pressure monitoring could be a clinically useful alternative to invasive blood pressure monitoring in anaesthetized horses.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective clinical study in a university teaching hospital.

ANIMALS

Forty-three horses with an average weight of 485 ± 90 kg and a mean age of 103.4 ± 57.6 months.

METHODS

Arterial blood pressure (BP) was measured noninvasively (NIBP) via a cuff placed over either the ventral coccygeal artery or the metacarpal artery, and invasively (IBP) via a catheter in either the facial artery or the metatarsal artery. A total of 143 paired readings were obtained. Comparison of measurements was carried out using the Bland-Altman method. Analysis was performed using all the data, and these data were subdivided according to the position of the horse and the magnitude of the pressure measurement. To determine the accuracy of the noninvasive measurements, the calculated precision and bias were compared with AHCP and VBPS guidelines.

RESULTS

For all categories, NIBP measurements were generally lower than IBP measurements. For pooled data, the bias and precision for systolic arterial pressure (SAP) were 6.8 and 11.9 mmHg; for mean arterial pressure (MAP) the values were 1.9 and 10.0 mmHg; and for diastolic arterial pressure (DAP) they were 5.7 and 10.8 mmHg. The bias and precision for MAP and DAP measurements were within the recommended guidelines defined by the AHCP and VBPS.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

These results suggests that systolic, mean and diastolic NIBP measured using the Surgivet V9203 are a clinically acceptable alternative to IBP measurements in anaesthetized horses undergoing routine elective surgeries.