[Evaluation of the Omron 705-CP blood pressure measuring device for use in adolescents and young adults].

OBJECTIVE To assess the Omron 705-CP monitor for measuring blood pressure in adolescents and young adults. METHODS According to the protocols of the British Hypertension Society and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, we performed validation of the device in 60 adolescents. The Omron monitor was connected in Y to a mercury column. Four consecutive and simultaneous measurements were taken with the mercury column sphygmomanometer and the test device, were independently analyzed, and the mean differences between the blood pressure measurements and the standard deviations of those differences were calculated. The results were analyzed according to the grading system of the protocol used. RESULTS Two hundred and forty measurements were evaluated. The mean age of the patients was 16.3 years. When the measurement performed with the mercury column sphygmomanometer was compared with that taken with the device, a difference < or =15 mmHg was observed in 97.9% of the systolic and 98.8% of the diastolic blood pressure measurements; a difference < or =10 mmHg was observed in 86.3% of the systolic and 90.4% of the diastolic blood pressure measurements, which was classified as grade A; a difference < or =5 mmHg was observed in 59.1% of the systolic and 67% of the diastolic blood pressure measurements, and was classified as grade A/B. The mean difference and the standard deviation of that difference for the systolic blood pressure was 2.91+/-6.42 mmHg, and, for the diastolic blood pressure, it was 1.16+/-5.79 mmHg. CONCLUSION The Omron 705-CP monitor proved to be useful for measuring blood pressure in adolescents according to the protocol used.