8-2
8.2
Troubleshooting – Possible Causes and Remedies
While monitoring blood pressure, problems may occur causing difficulty with accuracy, monitor performance and
patient comfort.
The following information may be used to help troubleshoot some of these problems:
Patient comfort-
Patient comfort in most cases is compromised by not using the appropriate cuff for the patient, or using
proper placement techniques.
Verify the cuff size, placement of the cuff over the brachial artery,
placement of the cuff above 1.5 inches above the elbow, as well as how tight the cuff was
wrapped.
Patient movement or arrythmia may also cause the unit to take longer and cause additional discomfort for
the patient.
Observe the patient to see if motion may have affected the monitor, or if the monitor has
a printer, look at the printout to see if the motion artifact mark appeared (#).
Monitor settings may also influence the comfort of the patient. Make sure the appropriate inflation
settings have been used and that the monitor is in the appropriate adult or neonatal mode. A small leak
in the cuff or air tube may also cause the unit to take longer to obtain a measurement.
Verify the
inflation pressure settings of the monitor. Check the integrity of the cuff and hose by wrapping
the cuff around a cylindrical object and placing the monitor into the service mode and running
the calibration test, if the pressure does not remain at constant pressure, replace a component at
a time (cuff, hose, monitor) until the leak has been ceased.
Accuracy-
The accuracy of the monitor can only be judged by verifying the patient’s blood pressure against another
source.
This verification can only be done if second measurement occurs immediately after the
first measurement has been taken. You can also verify the measurement by first validating the
calibration of the monitors transducer, verify no leaks are present in the monitor, cuff, or hose,
then place a stethoscope under the cuff and let a qualified person take an auscultatory measure-
ment at the same time as the monitor. This auscultatory measurement will use the pressure from the
monitor’s display and the automatic deflation of the monitor as well. Remember an auscultatory
measurement averages a 5-7 mmHg lower systolic and 5-7mmHg higher diastolic value than an
oscillometric measurement.
Monitor failures-
Colin monitors offer the user a source of displayed information to help them with monitor failures. These
messages include advisory, caution, and error codes. The following information may be displayed.
Messages-
•
Battery Low and Charge Battery- These messages alert the user that the monitor is operating on battery
power and must be plugged into an AC source for continued operation.
If one of these messages appear
and the monitor is connected to an AC source, verify the power cord, fuses, and if AC is even at the
plug itself.
•
Blank Mode- This message alerts the user that the display switch on the back of the monitor is in the OFF
position.