[Blood pressure measurement. Criteria employed in scientific articles published in Brazilian journals].

Purpose: To evaluate the criteria used for the technique of blood pressure measurement in scientific articles published in Brazilian journals.
Methods: Two hundred twenty three scientific articles from 18 medical journals, published between 1989 and 1994 were evaluated, in order to identify the type of sphygmomanometer used; the state of calibration; the cuff size; the position of the patient during the measurement; whether the blood pressure measurement was obtained after a resting period; the phase used to identify the systolic and diastolic pressures; and the number of readings taken.
Results: There was no reference in the articles about the following data: the type of sphygmomanometer in 51%, the accuracy of calibration in 82%, the cuff size in 64%, the position of the patient in 25%, the rest period before measurement in 60%, the systolic and diastolic phases in 49%, and the number of measurements in 52%.
Conclusion: Most of the papers analyzed did not follow or omitted important aspects cited in national and international recommendations for the correct blood pressure measurement.