A comparative study of tympanic and oral temperatures in healthy adults
Keywords:
tympanic temperature, infrared digital thermometer, measuring techniqueAbstract
Introduction
The tympanic thermometer is a successful example of the recent revolution in measurement equipment for emergency medicine, it records radiation measured from the ear canal which converts this information into body temperature, being a painless and suitable method for these measurements, currently being widely used in other diagnostic centers around the world.
Objective
The main objective of this study was to analyze and compare tympanic and oral temperature measurements. Ear and oral digital thermometers were used. The measurements were carried out at 10 am for three months, on a total of 103 patients admitted to the medical and surgical clinic of the Hospital de Clínicas of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Unicamp, Brazil.
Methods
The subjects were instructed not to eat hot or cold foods and not to smoke, at least thirty minutes before oral temperature measurement. To measure tympanic temperature, we used an auricular instrument whose depth was 8.5 to 10mm in the region of the tympanic membrane, at two angles, anterior and posterior. To measure both, patients could not show signs and symptoms of infection or have high temperatures prior to the collection date.
Results
The results demonstrated that there was no significant difference between the tympanic temperature measurements of each ear canal and the oral temperature. Only the measurement of tympanic temperature at the anterior and posterior angle of each ear canal showed a significant difference (Wilcoxon test, p=0.001).
Conclusion
1) There was no significant difference between tympanic temperature and oral temperature. 2) The values demonstrated for tympanic temperature only in relation to angle measurements showed significant differences (Wilcoxon test, p=0.001) and not for measurements of the right and left canals.
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