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LETTERS: William T Hamilton, Deborah Sharp, Tom Marshall, Paolo Palatini, Mark Brueren, and Alvine Bissery Comparison of different measures of blood pressure BMJ 2002; 325: 1360 [Full text]

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The Penny Farthing sphygmomanometer

Phillip J. Colquitt   (6 December 2002)

The Penny Farthing sphygmomanometer 6 December 2002
Phillip J. Colquitt, Independent Technical Advisor Self-employed Send response to journal: Re: The Penny Farthing sphygmomanometer	Editor, Before your readers get all exited about methods and meanings, regarding blood pressures, please allow me to direct them to an article in an official environmental website. Readers will find described there, safety design faults of Baumanometer mercurial sphygmomanometers which cause mercury(Hg)leakage[1]. The Hg sphygmomanometer causes much embarrassment due to the hundreds of kilograms of spilled and unaccounted for Hg in hospitals, in terms of pollution and occupational safety. Let’s all admit that the Hg sphygmomanometer is a renaissance artifact - about as meaningful as the Penny Farthing bicycle, but nowhere near as safe. Cranks and sentimentalists will always want to collect old useless things – and one now finds a highly priced market for antique Hg sphygmomanometers, some going for an “inflated” US $950.00[2]. Phillip J. Colquitt References: [1] Tenace L. Do You Have a Baumanometer[R]? Environmentally Preferable Purchasing News for Health Care Organizations Vol.2 No.1 January 2000. Available at: http://www.state.ma.us/ota/pubs/eppjan00.htm Accessed on December 6 2002. Full text appended below. [2] The Gemmary -ANTIQUE SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS CATALOG XIX. Accessed on December 6 2002. http://www.gemmary.com/instcat/15/p19-224-15.html APPENDAGE: DO YOU HAVE A BAUMANOMETER[R]? "My sphygmomanometer exploded!" A frantic call like this can often be traced to someone flipping the lever on the top of a Baum wall-mounted sphygmomanometer, or Baumanometer[R]. Flipping this lever safely releases the mercury tube for maintenance when the device is lying on its side; however, if the device is hanging on the wall, releasing the tube causes the mercury to fall out onto the floor. Other brands of wall-mounted sphygmomanometers do not have this feature. Hospitals committed to mercury reduction are not often able to afford replacing all mercury equipment at once. Mercury sphygmomanometers are replaced as the facility can afford it. This leaves one of the most common sources of spilled mercury in hospitals still on hand to cause problems. Although Baumanometers sold in the last few years come equipped with a lever lock that keeps the lever in place, older models without the lever locks are common. Baum will send you free lever locks for the older model if you request them. Although it is preferable to change to mercury-free equipment, it is not always practical for the short term. Using the lever locks can help prevent spills until the facility can afford to change. If you have Baumanometers, you can contact Baum Co., Inc. to receive your free lever locks at 516-226-3940 or info@wabaum.com. Contributed by Laurie Tenace, Florida DEP. For more information contact Laurie at 850-488-1865, or by email at: Laurie.Tenace@dep.state.fl.us Competing interests:   None declared