Blood Pressure Reference Values in Infants Under 1 Year of Age. Oscillometric and Auscultatory Parameters.

AIM

Blood pressure values in infants are an understudied topic. It is a complex problem in routine care. We only have reference charts obtained using oscillometric devices, which are not up to date and were measured more than 30 years ago. The usual reference standard for blood pressure is the values obtained by auscultation, and there are no published reference figures for this age group.

METHODS

In our study we present the normal values of 228 healthy children, recruited in our centre, aged between 14 days and 364 days of life, with auscultatory and oscillometric values taken in each patient.

RESULTS

Divided into four large quarterly groups, the results obtained confirm significantly greater differences in the oscillometric figures with respect to the auscultatory ones. No significant differences were found between the same blood pressure modalities when age, sex or the finding of minor conditions were assessed in the study of the patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Previously undescribed oscillometric and auscultatory reference values for paediatric blood pressure are available and can be applied in daily practice in infants. Auscultatory measurements should be taken into account, especially to confirm the values, as we would do if the patient's age were different.