RE: sphygmomanometer New Topic : using a Mercury Sphig to Diagnose ADD

[Guest guest]

The Mercury Sphigs should not

ever need calibration, since they are actually measuring millimeters of

mercury. They are the “gold (er, mercury)” standard.

Though I no longer use them, one observation I have made over

the years is that if you walk into a room with a mercury sphig that has a

youngster in it, and you see mercury on the floor, there is a high

probability that the youngster has ADD. I have noticed this correlation about

4 times in the 25 years I practiced in a conventional practice, when patients had

to wait in the exam room for the doctor to come in and see them.

Having just one exam room makes life much easier.

dts

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of

Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 9:14 PM

To:

Subject: Re: aneroid sphygmomanometer calibration

The springs break. I would not think the mercury ones need

calibration. During my training, we only used mercury ones. Being here in

california with our earthquakes, better to avoid mercury. Bp machines are not

that expensive. when the warranty runs out, I guess it would be time to replace

it.

There's a calibration circle for zeroing on

the aneroid dial. Just like zeroing a scale

Matt in Western Pa

aneroid

sphygmomanometer calibration

have it checked with your yearly periodic equipment

maintenance.

in between periodic maintenance, if you have one which obviously doesn't work,

don't use it; i also look for congruency between any individual reading and the

patient's condition and history, and previous bp measurements.

hope that's helpful.

LL

wrote:

how do you standardize/ calibrate

your aneroid bp machine. I have one from med school that always reads 120/80

adn it looks brand new? Should we buy new ones every couple of years?

On 2/11/08, lawrence

lyon

wrote:

yes, a mercury sphygmomanometer is

the gold standard, and i considered getting one, however the cost, and risk of

potential mercury spill were just not worth it, especially since there are

plenty of aneroid ones out there which work just fine, are much cheaper, and

there is no risk of mercury spill and/or contamination, and potential patient

exposure and liability as a result.

do what you like, knock yourself out, but if you become mad as a hatter, you

have only yourself to blame.

besides, there are plenty of other contaminants around if you feel the need to

be exposed.

LL

Kathy Broman

wrote:

I disagree regarding the mercury

sphygomamanometer. We got ours used and they stay very well attached to the

wall and are highly unlikely to come off and spill. They are very accurate and

are the gold standard to which other sphygo...s are calibrated to as far as I

know. I do have my mercury spill kit, though. I got pretty good at cleaning up

mercury when I was using a mercury thermometer to check my basal body temps way

back in the dark ages when I was trying get pregnant. I kept sending them

sailing across the room when shaking them down first thing in the morning. But

then maybe that explains this memory problem that keeps getting worse. What was

I talking about anyway?

Kathy

On Monday, February 11, 2008, at 12:50AM, " lawrence lyon "

wrote:

>STAY AWAY FROM A MERCURY SPHYGMOMANOMETER.

>it's just not worth it in case of a spill.

>look for used equipment, either from a retiring doc, craigslist, or even

ebay, state/other government surplus.

>fujitsu scansnap for scanner, use your computer to send and receive faxes,

get a decent inexpensive laser printer, like an hp 1020.

>LL

>

>Chirag Patel

wrote: Can everybody give me some tips on what they have bought for supplies

for a newer office? I'm FP:

>

>Sphygmomanometer? looking at ADC 952B seriesmercury wall mounted

>

>exam tables?I'm looking at Ritter 204's, need 2-3, may get a power one too,

222

>

>Printer? Copier? Fax machine? Should I get an all in one? Looking at

brother models, may stay away from all in ones in case it goes down, then I'm

stuck

>

>Stools?

>

>ECG?

>

>Wall mounted Otoscope/Ophtalmascopes? Man, those are pricey

>

>Peds/Adult Scales?

>

>What top 3 EMR's should I be looking into besides just Amazing Charts? I'm

new, can't spend that much of course, but just figured I would throw that out

there

>

>Thanks!

>

>

>

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[Guest guest]

For those space cadets among us, the mercury sphyg can't be used as it

requires normal earth gravity.

" The millimeter of mercury (symbol: mmHg) is defined as the pressure

exerted at the base of a column of fluid exactly 1 mm high, when the

density of the fluid is exactly 13.5951 g/cm³, at a place where the

acceleration of gravity is exactly 9.80665 m/s² "

On Sat, Feb 16, 2008 at 6:31 AM, T. , MD

wrote:

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> The Mercury Sphigs should not ever need calibration, since they are actually

> measuring millimeters of mercury. They are the " gold (er, mercury) "

> standard.

--

Graham Chiu

http://www.synapsedirect.com

Synapse-EMR - innovative electronic medical records system