Abstract
BackgroundDuring investigation and diagnosis of patients, accurate temperature measurement is of great importance. The advantages of tympanic membrane thermometry are speed (temperature reading available within seconds), safety, and ease of use. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of infrared tympanic thermometers in comparison to mercury thermometers in measurement of body temperature.MethodsAxillary and tympanic temperature was measured simultaneously in consecutive patients using mercury glass and infrared tympanic thermometers at Omdurman Hospital, Sudan during October 2012.ResultsIn total, temperature was measured in 174 patients, 95 of whom (54.6%) were male. The mean (SD) patient age and weight was 33.18 (25.07) years and 52.13 (69.85) kg. There was no significant difference in mean (SD) temperature measurement between mercury and infrared tympanic membrane thermometers, 37.29°C (0.91) versus 37.38°C (0.95), P = 0.373, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between axillary and tympanic body temperature measurements (r = 0.697, P < 0.001). The mean difference between the two readings (with limits of agreements) was - 0.093 (−0.20; 0.02) °C.ConclusionIn this study, tympanic membrane thermometry is as reliable and accurate as axillary mercury glass thermometry. Thus, tympanic thermometry can be used in clinical practice, especially in the emergency setting, where ease of use and speed of obtaining the temperature reading are important.
Highlights
During investigation and diagnosis of patients, accurate temperature measurement is of great importance
Body temperature depends on the type of thermometer and the area of the body used for taking the measurement [4]
This study positively answered the question ‘How well does tympanic membrane temperature measurement agree with standard axillary measuring technique?’, or can the new device substitute for the old? Infrared tympanic membrane thermometers take seconds to measure the natural emission of infrared thermal radiation from the tympanic membrane
Summary
During investigation and diagnosis of patients, accurate temperature measurement is of great importance. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of infrared tympanic thermometers in comparison to mercury thermometers in measurement of body temperature. Measurement of body temperature is one of the oldest known diagnostic methods and still remains an important indicator of health and disease, both in everyday life and in medical care [1]. Sudan has endemic levels of many communicable diseases, such as malaria [2,3], which necessitate speedy, safe and accurate temperature measurement for screening for fever. Human body temperature varies depending on the site from which the reading was taken - these differences are no more than an approximation of the true value that is being estimated [4,5].
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