Objective: Home blood pressure monitoring requires a precise blood pressure measurement technique and an accurate sphygmomanometer. The oscillometric sphygmomanometers have some drawbacks including in accuracy. The aims of this study were to assess the inaccuracy of home sphygmomanometers using a method first proposed in 2009 and to compare validated devices with other devices.
Materials and methods: Three hundred and eighty-two home sphygmomanometers that had been brought by individuals to the University Hospital were included in this study. This method has three stages(general evaluation, quick screening, final assessment) and sequential measurement of blood pressure is used for assessment. The devices were categorized into two groups for comparisons: validated and 'others'.
Results: One hundred and fourteen (30%) of the 382 devices were validated. Final assessment showed 91 (24%) of the 382 devices to be inaccurate. Inaccuracy among the 'others' and wrist devices were more common than for the validated and upper arm devices (P < 0.0001 for both comparisons). The categorization of upper arm