Suitability of the forearm for non-invasive blood pressure measurement in children.

The differences within mean ±1.96 standard deviations reside considerably outside the clinically accepted tolerance of ±5 mm Hg. Thus, the forearm may not be used interchangeably with upper limb BP readings in anesthetized healthy children. Future use of the forearm for BP measurement requires a validated anthropomorphically appropriate forearm cuff.