Incidence and recognition of elevated triage blood pressure in the pediatric emergency department.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the incidence of elevated triage blood pressure (BP) in pediatric emergency patients and to evaluate its recognition by health care practitioners.

Methods: This retrospective review randomly selected patients seen in a large academic pediatric emergency department for 13 months. Triage and subsequent BP measurements were recorded and categorized as normal or elevated (≥ 90th to < 95th, ≥ 95th-99th percentile plus 4 mm Hg, and ≥ 99th percentile plus 5 mm Hg).