Radial pulse character relationships to systolic blood pressure and trauma outcomes

Background. Patient measurements that do not require monitoring equipment may be the only way to evaluate casualties in austere conditions to determine treatment andtransport priority. Objective. To test the hypothesis that palpable pulse characteristics in the radial artery would estimate systolic blood pressure (SBP) andpredict outcome in trauma patients. Methods. Data were analyzed from the medical records of 342 trauma patients ranging from 18 to 50 years of age. Prehospital data were collected by helicopter emergency medical personnel at the scene of the injury. Based on radial pulse character, patients were divided into normal (n = 313) andweak (n = 29) groups. Those whose medical records did not describe pulse characters were not considered. Differences in SBP, mortality, andmedical interventions between the radial-pulse-character groups were evaluated. Results. The SBP taken at the scene was a mean of 26 mm Hg lower in those patients with weak radial pulse characters (102 mm Hg versus 128 mm Hg). ...