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Ear thermometers less accurate than rectal thermometers
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Infrared ear thermometers are less accurate than rectal thermometers and should not be used in place of them, according to study findings in Clinical Pediatrics.
Chen Zhen, MM, of the Capital Institute of Pediatrics in Beijing, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of all public literature that compared the accuracy of infrared ear thermometry with rectal thermometry. Analysis included data for 5,448 children from 28 studies conducted between 1990 and 2013.
Mean tympanic temperature was always lower than rectal temperature. The overall mean difference between tympanic and rectal temperature was 0.22°C (95% CI, –0.44 to 1.3). The mean temperature difference between tympanic and rectal temperature was 0.15°C (95% CI, –0.32 to 1.1) among febrile children.
“Routine measurement of temperature in young children is usually difficult. Although rectal temperature was considered as the ‘gold standard’ in young children, it is time-consuming, invasive, and anxiety provoking, thus limiting its usage in young children. Compared with rectal temperature, infrared ear thermometry has many obvious advantages (speed, ease, cleanliness, and safety), but our meta-analysis suggested that its accuracy and reliability were poor. Infrared ear thermometry may miss true febrile children, and may incorrectly classify normal children as having fever. … So, infrared ear thermometry cannot replace rectal thermometry in clinical practice, especially, in the diagnosis of febrile children,” the researchers concluded.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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