Adequacy of sphygmomanometer cuff to brachial circumference of people attended in Primary Health Care Centers.

OBJECTIVE

: To evaluate the adequacy of sphygmomanometer cuff to brachial circumference (BC) of individuals treated at Primary Health Care Centers.

METHODS

: Epidemiological, observational, and quantitative cross-sectional study. A total of 381 blood pressure (BP) readings conducted by nursing professionals were observed at 18 service units selected by drawing, considering two modalities of care centers. The correct use of the cuff was the main outcome variable. The BC was measured using inelastic measuring tape. The tests used for statistical analysis were Student's t-test, χ2, or Fisher's exact test.

RESULTS

: The measurement of BC ranged from 19.5 to 45.0 cm (mean = 30.4; standard deviation - SD = 4.3). Among the BP measurements, 218 (57.2%) of them were conducted with the appropriately sized cuff, being more frequent in the units with Family Health Teams (59.6 versus 40.4; p < 0.001). Ninety-three (24.2%) BC measurements were < 27 cm and 63 (16.5%) were > 34 cm. The adult cuff was used correctly 209 (59.4%) times and the large adult cuff was used correctly 9 (31.0%) times.

CONCLUSION

: The study found an inadequacy in the use of the cuff in 42.8% of blood pressure readings in the Primary Health Care Centers. Similar studies should be performed in other cities and areas to estimate the effect of this problem in the diagnosis and monitoring of systemic arterial hypertension (SAH).