Validation of automated blood pressure devices in children

Summary The aims of this project are 1) to perform a formal validation study of an automated blood pressure monitor that is commonly used in children, and 2) to investigate the utility of an electronic stethoscope and offline auscultatory analysis for improving the efficiency and robustness of validation studies. The project will involve recruitment and data collection in 100 children and adolescents attending the Royal Children's Hospital day clinics.

Project Details

As the leading risk factor for global disease burden, high blood pressure is one of the greatest health challenges of our time. Of particular concern, high blood pressure is detected in the doctor's office in ~15% of children and adolescents and at 7 years of age has been associated with higher and steeper blood pressure trajectories into adulthood and elevated cardiovascular disease risk in mid-adulthood. Annual screening for high blood pressure is recommended in children from 3 years of age or at every health care encounter in children with obesity, renal disease, diabetes or aortic coarctation history, in whom blood pressure is both a key diagnostic indicator and therapeutic target. Due to convenience and ease-of-use, automated blood pressure measurement devices have now largely supplanted the manual (auscultatory) method. However, few automated devices have been validated in children and the paucity of validated paediatric devices is recognised as a major gap with real-world implications for diagnosis and therapy. The aims of this project are 1) to perform a formal validation study of an automated blood pressure monitor that is commonly used in children, and 2) to investigate the utility of an electronic stethoscope and offline auscultatory analysis for improving the efficiency and robustness of validation studies. The project will involve recruitment and data collection in 100 children and adolescents attending the Royal Children's Hospital day clinics.