Indirect and direct simultaneous, comparative blood pressure measurements with the Bosotron 2 device

Testing the accuracy of the automatic blood pressure measuring device Bosotron 2, we performed simultaneous, same-arm, comparative blood pressure measurements with three instruments (A, B, and C) of the device and by auscultation in the antecubital fossa by a trained observer in 24 volunteers each. The volunteers were evenly matched for age, sex, and blood pressure level. The mean systolic differences and their standard deviations (24 subjects each, n = 288 single measurements) were -1.32+/-3.8 mm Hg for instrument A, -0.99+/-3.9 mm Hg for instrument B, and -1.12+/-5.0 mm Hg for instrument C. The corresponding values for the diastolic differences were -2.71+/-4.4, -3.46+/-4.3, and -2.72+/-3.9 mm Hg, respectively. Combining the results for the three instruments, the comparison yielded a good accuracy (mean difference) and sufficient repeatability of the differences (standard deviation) for the systolic and diastolic blood pressures (systolic -1.14+/-4.3 mm Hg; diastolic -2.96+/-4.2 mm Hg). In addition to the British Hypertension Society protocol, in 33 patients with coronary artery disease the measurements using the three Bosotron 2 devices were compared with measurements within the aortic arch. The mean systolic/diastolic differences (+/-SD) were +1.45+/-4.3 and +7. 27+/-4.7 mm Hg for instrument A, +4.70+/-12.8 and +1.73+/-7.4 mm Hg for instrument B, and -3.74+/-8.0 and +5.61+/-2.6 mm Hg for instrument C. Combining the results of the three instruments, the blood pressure was determined to be only slightly higher (systolic +1.74+/-9.6 mm Hg; diastolic +4.87+/-5.6 mm Hg) by the Bosotron 2 R device as compared with the aortic arch pressure. The Bosotron 2 R device seems to be suitable for clinical use and for monitoring blood pressure during clinical-pharmacological studies.