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Background: Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is a standard screening tool for the diagnosis of hypertension in children, adolescents, and adults. However, there is confusion and misunderstanding about which guidelines can provide the most accurate diagnostic values. Local problem: At a large, free-standing pediatric hospital, ABPM testing was historically being conducted by both nephrology and cardiology departments. The nephrology service was using the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, published in 2014 for interpretation of results and for diagnosis of hypertension, whereas the cardiology service depended on the 2004 National High Blood Pressure Education Program (NHBEP) fourth report, which led to discrepancies in diagnosis of hypertension in this patient population. Methods: A nurse practitioner–led quality improvement project was designed and implemented to determine the best method of ABPM monitoring and test interpretation based on comparing results of patients using height, gender, and application of either the 2004 NHBEP fourth report or 2014 AHA guidelines. Interventions: Using a retrospective chart review, ABPM monitoring results from both cardiology and nephrology services were reviewed and compared to identify the most accurate methods and to recommend changes to practice. Results: Accuracy of interpretation for ABPM is best accomplished using the 2014 AHA guidelines. Conclusions: Using a single method of interpretation provides consistent diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in children. Nurse practitioners can apply this knowledge in other settings to manage hypertension and provide similar services in different settings, including primary care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children who were born prematurely, those with a very low birthweight, or who have survived the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at risk for the development of hypertension and chronic kidney disease (CKD), and thus require blood pressure screening less than 3 years of age, per American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2004 and 2017 guidelines.Methods: We reviewed the practice patterns of a large pediatric health care system and assessed adherence to the AAP clinical practice guidelines on blood pressure measurements in children less than 3 years of age for hypertension and CKD with the following risk factors: prematurity, very low birthweight, and a neonatal intensive care setting encounter. This retrospective chart review included a total of 9965 patients with a median gestational age of 34 weeks.Results: Overall, 38% of patients had at least one blood pressure measured less than 3 years of age. Primary care accounted for 41% of all outpatient encounters and 4% of all blood pressure measurements. Surgical specialties (i.e., ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and orthopedics) accounted for many non-primary care visits and were less likely than medical specialties (i.e., cardiology and nephrology) to obtain a blood pressure measurement (p < 0.0001).Conclusions: This study of a large healthcare system's practice revealed a lack of basic screening for hypertension in a population known to be at risk for hypertension and CKD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]