Comparison of Tympanic and Axillary Temperatures

Yoo, Jae Hee; Jo, Hyun Sook

Abstract

PURPOSE: To verify the usability of tympanic temperature measurement for adults, a comparison of tympanic and axillary temperatures was done. METHOD: The study was conducted during October 2008, and participants were 110 female nursing students. Axillary temperatures were taken with glass mercury thermometers for 5, 7 and 10 minutes. Tympanic temperatures were taken with Infrared Thermometer IRT 4520 on both ears, twice at a 5-second interval. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 12.0 program.
RESULTS
In the 1st measurement, the mean for right tympanic temperatures (0.06degreesC) and for left (0.03degreesC) were significantly higher than the 2nd. A comparison of mean temperatures for right and left, showed that the mean for the left side on the 1st measurement was significantly higher (0.01degreesC) than the right. Also the temperature on left side in the 2nd measurement was higher (0.04degreesC) than the right 2nd, but not significantly higher. The mean temperature for right and left tympanic on 1st and 2nd measurements were significantly higher than axilla for 5 minutes (0.58degreesC), for 7 minutes (0.52degreesC), and for 10 minutes (0.43degreesC). The tympanic temperature was the most closely correlated with the axillary temperature at 10 minutes.
CONCLUSION
Findings indicate that measurement of tympanic temperature is a useful alternative to axillary temperature taken for 10 minutes.