title: [Evaluation of ear temperature measurements in a geriatric department].
abstract: We evaluated an infrared tympanic thermometer (Genius 3000A) by comparing it with parallel measurements with an electronic rectal thermometer (Philips HP 5316) on 121 patients admitted to a geriatric department. Rectal temperature was on average 0.14 degree C +/- (ISD) above the ear temperature. 95% of the differences are within the interval from -1.18 degrees C to 1.46 degrees C. The coefficient of determination was only 0.30. The tympanic thermometer, Genius 3000A, cannot be recommended for daily use on a geriatric ward.
authors.affiliation: Geriatrisk afdeling Q, Odense Universitetshospital.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: V B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Matzen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001831:Body Temperature; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004423:Ear / Q000502:physiology*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012007:Rectum; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013817:Thermography / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D013821:Thermometers / Q000592:standards*; D014432:Tympanic Membrane