Investigation of the Accuracy in the Use of Temporal Artery Thermometers for Non-invasive Temperature Measurement

Accurate temperature measurement on patients presenting to the Emergency Department is of great importance since it has significant influence on the further treatment of the patient. At Bispebjerg Hospital temporal artery thermometers are being implemented as they provide a fast and comfortable temperature measurement compared to rectal thermometers, who are considered to be the gold standard, defined by the Danish Center for Clinical Guidelines. The scientific proof for their accuracy compared to rectal thermometers in adult patients is insufficient though. The purpose of this study is to determine the difference between temperatures measured by a temporal artery thermometer (Exergen TAT-5000) and a rectal thermometer (OMRON MC-341-E) in patients presenting to the Emergency Department at Copenhagen University Hospital: Bispebjerg. The investigators hypothesize that there will be an average difference of at least 0,3 degrees centigrade between those two types of measurements (Bland-Altman). Based on a significance of 5% and a power of 80% the number of patients was calculated to 385, including an estimated 10% dropout.