Abstract 277: Discrepancies Between Non-invasive Blood Pressure Monitor Data and Ems Provider Documentation in Major Traumatic Brain Injury: Are We Missing Hypotension?

Abstract

Background: Recent studies have shown that prehospital systolic blood pressure (SBP) is strongly associated with mortality across a remarkably wide range (far above 90 mmHg) in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Furthermore, in TBI research, trial enrollment and risk-adjustment are highly dependent upon accurate documentation of BP. Our preliminary work identified potential discrepancies between EMS-documented vs. actual measured BP. Objective: In major TBI, evaluate concordance between SBP documented in EMS patient care records (PCR) and actual, monitor-recorded SBP. Methods: A subset of major TBI cases (mod/severe/critical) in the EPIC TBI Study (NIH 1R01NS071049) were analyzed (3/13-7/18). Cases from 6 EMS agencies reporting continuous monitor data (Philips MRx™) were included. All monitor data available for this analysis were displayed and accessible to the providers during EMS care. We compared the lowest PCR-documented SBP to the monitor-recorded value in each patient. Results: Included: 210 cases (median age: 52, 67% male). In 152 cases (72%), the lowest PCR-documented SBP was exactly concordant with the monitor. When concordance was defined by a difference of ≤5 mmHg, 171 (81%) were concordant. Among the 27 cases with monitor-identified hypotension (<90 mmHg), only 18 (67%) were documented by EMS. EMS documentation also failed to record 20% (3/15) of “near-hypotensive” cases (90-99 mmHg). Conclusions: Significant disparities existed between monitor-recorded and PCR-documented SBP. PCRs failed to reflect 33% of monitor-documented hypotensive cases. It appears that ongoing care responsibilities and scene distractions may cause providers to miss important BP readings. These findings identify a potential hidden contributor to poor outcomes if hypotension goes unrecognized and untreated, rather than simply not being documented. Furthermore, case ascertainment, trial enrollment, confounding, and risk-adjustment in TBI studies may be substantially impacted when these processes are based on EMS documentation. When possible, QI and research projects should utilize monitor data to identify hypotensive patients. Development of real-time audiovisual monitor feedback technology might improve provider recognition of hypotension.