Comparison of body temperatures in children measured using 3 different thermometers: tympanic, skin and digital axillary

Abstract

To compare body temperature measurements using tympanic, skin and digital axillary thermometers. Hospitalized or outpatient children from the General Hospital Celaya, ISSSTE Hospital Clinic and General Hospital No. 4 IMSS, and the pediatric private service in Celaya, Guanajuato, from 1 day of life until 16 years old, were recruited over a one month period, after their parents signed the consent form. The order of each institution was selected by simple randomization. Body temperatures were measured in triplicate using tympanic, skin and digital axillary thermometers. The sample consisted of 554 children. The Pearson r between the tympanic and digital axillary thermometers was 0.57 to 0.65, with a positive linear relationship (P<.05); between the skin and the digital axillary thermometers, it was between 0.47 and 0.52 with a positive linearrelationship (P<.05). The intra-observer Kappa for the tympanic thermometer was 0.86, and for the inter-observer was 0.77; for the skin thermometer it was 0.82 and 0.67, respectively, and for the digital axillary thermometer it was 0.86 for intra-observer reliability and 0.78 for inter -observer reliability. Tympanic and axillary thermometers showed better precision in measuring the body temperature in children than skin thermometers.