title: Unsafe health and safety: sphygmomanometer cuffs are not interchangeable.
abstract: Unknown to its hypertension specialists, a major teaching hospital changed the cuffs on its sphygmomanometers from manufacturer-validated to a uniform washable alternative, in line with 'Health and Safety' concerns surrounding potential cross-contamination between patients. When clinic doctors suspected serious under-reading with the new cuffs, a systematic comparison was undertaken in 54 patients (mean±s.d. age, 61±17 years), using two UM-101 sphygmomanometers, one using the original, manufacturer-supplied cuff and the other with the washable replacement. The study confirmed an average under-reading of 8±10/5±5 mm Hg using the washable cuff, and a third of patients with poorly controlled hypertension were considered normotensive, after using this cuff. The UM-101 sphygmomanometers have now been re-fitted with the original cuffs. Sphygmomanometer cuffs are not interchangeable between devices and a modicum of common sense should be shown to prevent changes made in the name of Health and Safety from having the opposite effect to that intended.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pharmacology Unit, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: McEniery
authors.forename: I B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061214:Patient Safety; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D019722:Sphygmomanometers / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards