title: Measuring units for elastic stockings: priority to mmHg rather than classes.
abstract: Seven incontrovertible arguments show that the only valid measurement unit for elastic stockings is the millimetre of mercury and not a grading system. The mmHg is an international measurement unit; a new European grading system will make prescribing much more difficult; the degree of arterial insufficiency is calculated by taking systolic pressures by Doppler and is expressed in mmHg; in case of superimposition of elastic stocking, pressure add together but not grades; the unit used for pressure instruments is the mmHg; a clinical situation may require a compression force straddled between two grades; finally, new materials will certainly provide increasingly precise forces.
authors.affiliation: Service de Cardiologie, Hôpital Saint-Antoine, Paris.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cornu-Thénard
mesh_terms: D001458:Bandages / Q000145:classification / Q000592:standards; D004867:Equipment Design; D008365:Manometry; D011312:Pressure