Equivalence between invasive and oscillometric blood pressures at different anatomic locations in healthy normotensive anaesthetised horses.
Authors: Tearney C C, Guedes A G P, Brosnan R J
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Oscillometric Blood Pressure Measurement in Anaesthetised Horses Accurate intraoperative blood pressure monitoring is crucial for clinical decision-making during equine anaesthesia, yet little evidence exists on the reliability of non-invasive oscillometric devices at peripheral sites in adult horses. Tearney and colleagues conducted a prospective experimental study comparing invasive arterial pressure readings from the transverse facial artery against simultaneous oscillometric measurements at four anatomical locations (tail, metacarpus, metatarsus, and distal radius/ulna) using various cuff widths (5–12 cm) in six anaesthetised horses under sevoflurane or desflurane. Of the 340 paired measurements collected, equivalence between invasive and oscillometric mean arterial pressure was achieved at only one site: the tail with a 6 cm cuff (cuff width-to-tail circumference ratio of 0.25; P = 0.8), whilst all limb locations proved non-equivalent regardless of cuff size (P ≤0.01). For practitioners relying on oscillometric monitoring during equine surgery, this finding suggests the tail is the only currently validated peripheral site for normotensive horses, provided the 0.25 width-to-circumference ratio is respected; however, the authors appropriately caution that further investigation in horses with compromised haemodynamics is necessary before broader clinical recommendations can be made.
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Practical Takeaways
- •If using oscillometric blood pressure monitoring in anaesthetised horses, use only the tail with a 6 cm cuff width; other limb locations are unreliable for clinical decision-making
- •Current oscillometric devices cannot be recommended for appendage blood pressure measurement in anaesthetised horses despite their convenience
- •Until further validation studies in horses with variable haemodynamics are conducted, invasive arterial monitoring remains the gold standard for accurate intraoperative blood pressure assessment
Key Findings
- •Only tail measurement with 6 cm cuff width (0.25 cuff width-to-tail circumference ratio) achieved equivalence between oscillometric and invasive MAP (P = 0.8)
- •All other anatomic locations (metacarpus, radius/ulna, metatarsus) and cuff widths failed to show equivalence with invasive measurements (P ≤ 0.01)
- •Study generated 340 paired measurements across multiple anatomic locations and cuff sizes (5-12 cm) in laterally recumbent anaesthetised horses