ELECTRONIC DEVICES FOR THE SELF-MEASUREMENT OF BLOOD-PRESSURE - COMPARISON OF OSCILLOMETRIC AND KOROTKOW DEVICES

The accuracy of 22 new electronic devices for self-measurement of blood pressure available on the German market 1990/91 was tested on 24 subjects each by simultaneous measurement on the same arm. 14 devices measured blood pressure by detecting the Korotkow sounds, 8 by the oscillometric method. Compared to devices manufactured 1983 the accuracy of most of the Korotkow devices continues to be good. Nevertheless, some Korotkow devices still give too low a value for diastolic blood pressure. This was especially true for the oscillometric devices, since these devices on the average exhibited marked deviations from standard measurement in the diastolic blood pressure range. The variability of deviations was the same for the Korotkow and the oscillometric devices. The constancy in quality was better for the Korotkow than for the oscillometric devices. On the other hand, oscillometric devices proved to regulate cuff pressure fall more precisely than most of the Korotkow devices. There was no difference in the sensitivity to minor misplacement of the cuff between both types of devices. Although oscillometric devices are qualified for self-measurement of blood pressure by the patients their accuracy in determining diastolic blood pressure should be improved.