The Effect Of Auricle Position On Body Temperature Measurements Made With Tympanic Membrane Thermometer In Adults

Introduction One of the most common practices in clinical investigations is the measurement of a patient's body temperature (1-2,3). Body temperature measurement has a significant place in evaluation of clinical pictures and clinical monitoring (4). The issue at hand is that various temperature measurement modalities yield different results (2-4).

Although the accuracy of temperatures measured by infrared tympanic thermometers is a controversial issue among people interested in the subject, these thermometers have many advantages; they measure the temperature fast (1-2 s), and they are easy to use and non-invasiveness (3). Compared to the armpit or oral temperatures, the tympanic temperature reflects the core temperature more accurately which was demonstrated by comparing the temperature measurements made in the pulmonary artery and esophagus (5-6).

Methods Aim The aim of this study investigate the effects of auricle position on body temperature values in tympanic membrane thermometer measurements performed on adult patients. The hypothesis was "Position of the auricle during measurement of tympanic membrane temperature will affect the reading".

Design The study was conducted with a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and a post-test.

The Study Participants This cross-sectional study surveyed 143 patients from one of emergency department in Turkey. The patients who were 18 years old or older, conscious, without communication issues, volunteers, not diagnosed with otitis media, who did not have a fever. Because otitis media and fever cause to potential sources of bias. A sample of the study with 143 patients who meeting these criteria and agreed to participate in the study was generated.