Objective: To study the reliability and precision of the arterial pressure digital monitor, Palm Monitor-2 FS-40, model 1083 (DM). The mercury sphygmomanometer (MSM) was used as the reference.
Design: Comparative crossover study.
Setting: Primary Care Centre.
Patients: 81 patients of both sexes between 26 and 65 found at random in a consultation during November and December, 1991. 24 of them had systolic arterial pressure (SAP) above 140 mmHg and/or diastolic arterial pressure (DAP) above 90 mmHg.
Measurements and main results: Four measurements of AP for each patient were carried out at one minute intervals: the first and the fourth with the MSM and the second and third with the DM. The SAP averages with the DM were 130.27 mmHg in the first take and 129.36 in the second. The DAP averages were 82.53 and 81.88, respectively. The Pearson correlation r between the averages for both devices and the difference of averages, both absolute and in so much per cent, were obtained. The values obtained were 0.887 for SAP and 0.810 for DAP. The difference between averages was -3.83 mmHg (-2.86%) for SAP and -2.55 mmHg (-3.04%) for DAP.
Conclusions: The measurements obtained with this DM are quite reliable, although a tendency to underestimate the AP values in relation to the MSM was noted. Overall it can provide useful information on certain aspects of the diagnosis and follow-up of AHT.