Blood pressure: Authors respond

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 54, No. 10, December 2012, Page 492 Letters
By: Janusz Kaczorowski, PhD, Martin Dawes, MBBS, MD, FRCGP, Mark Gelfer, MD,

Dr Campin is quite correct in pointing out that our recent article in BCMJ highlighting some of the new developments and challenges associated with blood pressure measurement did not address the issue of inter-arm difference in blood pressure and its significance. This was in part because of space limitations and in part because using proper BP measurement techniques should be followed regardless of the device used or setting. 

Unfortunately, proper manual BP measurement techniques are rarely followed in routine clinical practice—especially measuring BP in both arms, repeating the measurement on the arm with the higher reading and, if significant difference exists, using that arm for all subsequent assessments. It was for this reason that we have emphasized the relative advantages of using automated office BP devices. One validated office BP device that is now available simultaneously measures BP in both arms during an initial assessment, allowing the practitioner to accurately see if there is an inter-arm difference.[1] 

As to the pharmacy measurement issue, the major supplier of BP kiosk devices in Canada is now providing a unique tapered cuff setup (to allow for accurate measurement in arms of most sizes) that swivels to allow a patient to sit backwards on the kiosk and do the measurement in the opposite arm. Dr Campin’s comments further underscore our recommendations that more readings are better than fewer readings, that all readings should be done in accordance with current guidelines, and that clinicians should not rely on a reading obtained from a hastily performed manual office BP measurement when making critical decisions about the care of patients.
—Janusz Kaczorowski, PhD
—Martin Dawes, MB, BS, MD, FRCGP
—Mark Gelfer, MD

References

1.    Saladini F, Benetti E, Masiero S, et al. Accuracy of Microlife WatchBP Office ABI monitor assessed according to the 2002 European Society of Hypertension protocol and the British Hypertension Society protocol. Blood Press Monit 2011;16:258-261.

Janusz Kaczorowski, PhD,, Martin Dawes, MBBS, MD, FRCGP,, Mark Gelfer, MD,. Blood pressure: Authors respond. BCMJ, Vol. 54, No. 10, December, 2012, Page(s) 492 - Letters.


Above is the information needed to cite this article in your paper or presentation. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends the following citation style, which is the now nearly universally accepted citation style for scientific papers:
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:284-7.

About the ICMJE and citation styles

The ICMJE is small group of editors of general medical journals who first met informally in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group became known as the Vancouver Group. Its requirements for manuscripts, including formats for bibliographic references developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), were first published in 1979. The Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually. The ICMJE created the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals to help authors and editors create and distribute accurate, clear, easily accessible reports of biomedical studies.

An alternate version of ICMJE style is to additionally list the month an issue number, but since most journals use continuous pagination, the shorter form provides sufficient information to locate the reference. The NLM now lists all authors.

BCMJ standard citation style is a slight modification of the ICMJE/NLM style, as follows:

  • Only the first three authors are listed, followed by "et al."
  • There is no period after the journal name.
  • Page numbers are not abbreviated.


For more information on the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, visit www.icmje.org

BCMJ Guidelines for Authors

Leave a Reply