CJA
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a scholarly reply
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lund, I.
Right arrow Articles by Pylypchuk, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Lund, I.
Right arrow Articles by Pylypchuk, G.
Canadian Journal of Anesthesia 53:26437 (2006)
© Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society, 2006

Monday June 19

26437 - PRESENCE OF WHITE-COAT EFFECT IN THE PRE-ANESTHETIC CARE UNIT

Ian Lund, MD, Shannon Gelb, BSc and George Pylypchuk, FRCPC

University Of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SASKATCHEWAN, Canada

INTRODUCTION: White-coat effect and hypertension are known entities in physician offices and community pharmacy practice. 1,2 An accurate blood pressure reading preoperatively is important to anesthesiologists, as common management is to keep the systolic blood pressure within 20% of baseline.3 BpTRU is a blood pressure measurement device that has been used in an attempt to address the issue of white coat effect. 4,5 This is a quality assurance study to determine if white coat effect exists in the pre-anesthetic care unit.

METHODS: A total of 37 consenting subjects were included in the study. Registered nurses in the pre-anesthetic care unit would record a manual sitting blood pressure in each patient. BpTRU measurements were taken in the same arm within ten minutes of the nurse reading. Results were compared using standard statistical analysis.

RESULTS: Relative effectiveness of the two blood pressure readings was determined by examining paired t-test results. Both systolic BP and diastolic BP readings were not found to significantly differ from each other (p = 0.231 and p = 0.153, respectively). The mean differences for systolic and diastolic BP were 2.37 (S.D. 11.98) and 2.21 (S.D. 9.34), respectively. Prevalence of white coat effect was found to be 8.1% (3/37).

DISCUSSION: The prevalence of white coat effect was found to quite low in this study at 8.1%. The statistical analysis also showed that blood pressure readings taken by nurse and BpTRU were not significantly different. This data suggests that the blood pressure readings taken by nurses in the pre-anesthetic care unit can be relied upon to make intra-operative decisions.

REFERENCES:

1 J Hypertens 2006:24:67–74.[Medline]

2 Blood Press Monit 2005:10:13–8.[Medline]

3 Br J Anaesth 2004:92:570–83.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

4 BMC Cardiovasc Disor 2005:28:18.

5 Am J Hypertens 2003:16:494–7[Medline]





This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a scholarly reply
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lund, I.
Right arrow Articles by Pylypchuk, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Lund, I.
Right arrow Articles by Pylypchuk, G.

HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS