Association of blood pressure documentation with adverse outcomes in an emergency department in Brazil

Objective: To associate blood pressure (BP) documentation with adverse outcomes in an emergency department (ED). Methods: This is a retrospective observational study, and 642 records of patients admitted to the ED of a tertiary hospital in Brazil were used. We included medical records of patients of both sexes aged over 18 years, who were allocated in general wards in the period December 2015-June 2016. Association between BP measurements with length of stay (LOS), worsening of clinical presentation, unplanned patient transfer, readmission, stroke or transient ischemic attack, cardiorespiratory arrest, and death were investigated. Results: Association was observed between worsening of clinical presentation and systolic (p = 0.003) or diastolic (p = 0.001) BP values. The association between LOS and worsening of clinical presentation with the number of BP measurements or mean time between BP measurements was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Unplanned patient transfer was associated with an increase in the number of BP measurements (p < 0.001). The mean time between BP measurements was higher among patients who returned to the ED within 48-72 h (p = 0.030). Conclusions: The results of this study showed association between BP documentation with adverse outcomes in the ED, reinforcing the need to develop educational strategies regarding nursing records and monitoring of vital signs.