Evaluation of oscillometric and Doppler ultrasonic devices for blood pressure measurements in anesthetized and conscious dogs

Two non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) devices (oscillometry and Doppler) were compared to invasive blood pressure using a Bland–Altman analysis, in anesthetized and conscious dogs. When considering the systolic arterial pressure only during general anesthesia, both NIBP devices slightly underestimated the systolic arterial blood pressure however the precision and the limits of agreement for the Doppler were of a greater magnitude. This indicates a worse clinical performance by the Doppler. The performance of both NIBP devices deteriorated as measured in conscious animals. In general, for the oscillometric device, determination of invasive diastolic and mean arterial pressures was better than the invasive systolic arterial pressure. Overall, the oscillometric device satisfied more of the criteria set by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine consensus statement. Based upon these results, the oscillometric device is more reliable than the Doppler in the determination of blood pressure in healthy medium to large breed dogs.