Agreement of a veterinary-specific oscillometric noninvasive arterial blood pressure monitor (SunTech Vet30) with invasive arterial blood pressure in anaesthetised horses.

The SunTech Vet30 oscillometric monitor cannot replace invasive blood pressure monitoring in anaesthetised horses.

This prospective clinical method-comparison study evaluated the agreement between the SunTech Vet30 oscillometric noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP) monitor and invasive arterial blood pressure (IBP) in 46 anaesthetised horses in dorsal recumbency. A total of 311 paired measurements were analysed using repeated-measures Bland-Altman analysis. IBP was obtained via facial artery catheterisation, while oscillometric measurements were taken at the tail base or distal thoracic limb and hydrostatically corrected. Bias values were clinically modest (SAP: +3.1 mmHg, DAP: -0.4 mmHg, MAP: -4.5 mmHg); however, limits of agreement were wide and exceeded clinically acceptable thresholds for all pressure parameters (SAP: -24.6 to 30.8 mmHg; DAP: -24.5 to 23.7 mmHg; MAP: -30.9 to 21.9 mmHg). Proportional bias was identified for DAP and MAP, indicating that agreement worsened at lower pressures—a clinically significant concern given the risk of anaesthetic-induced hypotension in horses. Using IBP MAP <70 mmHg as the hypotension threshold, the oscillometric MAP demonstrated sensitivity of 0.774 and specificity of 0.634, with an AUC of 0.753. These diagnostic performance metrics suggest the device has limited reliability for detecting hypotension. The authors conclude that the SunTech Vet30 should not be considered interchangeable with IBP in anaesthetised horses. It may serve as an adjunctive monitoring tool when IBP is unavailable, but clinicians should exercise caution when using oscillometric values to guide treatment decisions, particularly in hypotensive patients.

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