Mohammad Zafar Rabbani, Mohammed Amir, Munir Malik, Mazhar Mufti, Sahar Iftekhar, Mohammad Bin Pervez.
Tympanic temperature comparison with oral mercury thermometer readings in an OPD setting.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;20(1):33-6.

Objective: To observe and compare the Tympanic Temperature (TT) readings with the Oral Mercury Thermometer (OMT) in an OPD setting. Study Design: Observational comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: The Outpatient Department, Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, from June to September 2008. Methodology: By consecutive sampling, 2000 OPD patients were included in the study. Both tympanic membrane and oral cavity temperatures were recorded in each patient. Patients were grouped into four age classes i.e. 5-16, 17-40, 41-60 and above 60 years. Taking the oral temperature as a standard, tympanic temperature recordings were analyzed in each age group for afebrile and febrile temperature ranges. An intra-class Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) was calculated for closeness of correlation of TT with OMT in each group. Results: Mean age of the sample was 31.84±19.42 years. Mean temperature reading from the OMT was 36.732 ±0.66oC, while the mean TT reading was 36.575±0.71oC. Overall correlation between OMT and TT readings was 0.871 (p < 0.001); higher correlation was found in children as compared to adults. In the febrile range, a strongly positive correlation of TT with OMT in the 5-16 years age group (r=0.945) was seen. A poor correlation of TT with OMT was noted for 41-60 and 60 plus groups (r=0.394 and 0.342 respectively). TT was found to have very high specificities in all age groups; highest of 100 in 17-40 years age group. The sensitivities were generally low, the lowest being 33.33 in 60 plus age group. Conclusion: TT measurement is a quick method for temperature recording in a busy OPD. However, it is reliable mainly for a younger population.

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