Chapter 5: Auscultatory Gap

Question 1

An examiner can be confused by an osculatory gap when manually recording a patient’s blood pressure which can lead to?

Answer 1

Understimation of the systolic reading or overestimation of the diastolic reading.

Question 2

What is the Auscultatory Gap?

Answer 2

An interval of absent Korotkoff sounds in some patients (usually those who are hypertensive).

Question 3

Ex: A patient’s actual BP reading is 200/110 with a gap between 170 and 140, they cuff is inflated to 170 but nothing is heard until?

Answer 3

The gauge (on the sphygmomanometer) reaches 140, which is incorrectly presumed as the systolic reading.

Question 4

For some patients in whom an auscultatory gap is present, the branchial pulse should be monitored by palpation to?

Answer 4

Determine the systolic blood pressure before recording the blood pressure with the auscultatory method.