Aneroid sphygmomanometers. An assessment of accuracy at a university hospital and clinics.

Defects of aneroid sphygmomanometers are a source of error in blood pressure measurement. We inspected 230 aneroid sphygmomanometers for physical defects and compared their accuracy against a standard mercury manometer at five different pressure points. An aneroid sphygmomanometer was defined as intolerant if it deviated from the mercury manometer by greater than +/- 3 mm Hg at two or more of the test points. The three most common physical defects were indicator needles not pointing to the "zero box," cracked face plates, and defective tubing. Eighty (34.8 of the 230 aneroid sphygmomanometers were determined to be intolerant with the greatest frequency of deviation seen at pressure levels of 150 mm Hg or greater. We recommend that aneroid manometers be inspected for physical defects and calibrated for accuracy against a standard mercury manometer at 6-month intervals to prevent inaccurate blood pressure measurements.