WATERTOWN, Mass., May 1, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Academy of Pediatric News (AAP News)1 reported on a study published in Pediatric Emergency Care.2 The study found that "temperatures taken with temporal artery thermometers correlated with rectal temperatures better than axillary and tympanic membrane thermometry." The research was conducted in the pediatric emergency room of a tertiary care hospital and concluded, "Temporal artery thermometry has the potential to replace rectal thermometry in busy emergency room settings."
The study was undertaken to evaluate the different methods of temperature measurement available in the emergency room. By comparing the various methods, the study determined the Exergen TemporalScanner to be the most accurate. Until now, rectal thermometry was considered the gold standard for predicting core body temperature. AAP News states the various methods which were used in the study included rectal, axillary, tympanic and temporal artery thermometry.
"The AAP News article provides doctors, nurses, and consumers with important new support for replacing rectal thermometers with Exergen TemporalScanner thermometers," said Dr. Francesco Pompei, CEO of Exergen Corporation. "Pediatricians in particular have been seeking an accurate and non-invasive alternative to rectal thermometers for their patients, and now they have a number of independent studies, and an AAP News review articleto support the use of Exergen TemporalScanner thermometers instead of the rectal methods."
The study was conducted by testing 100 patients, 50 febrile and 50 afebrile children ages 2-12 years visiting the pediatric emergency room, with temperatures taken using each of the aforementioned methods. The Exergen TemporalScanner was able to predict rectal temperature in 49 of 50 febrile patients and 45 of 50 afebrile patients within the range of 0.2 C, resulting in correlation coefficient of 0.99 in the febrile group and 0.91 in the afebrile group, the highest scores of any of the thermometry methods.
The AAP News article indicated that based on the study, temporal artery thermometry is more accurate and acceptable than tympanic membrane and axillary thermometry in predicting rectal temperature. The many disadvantages tied to using rectal thermometers, including the risk of cross contamination, make temporal artery thermometers the safest, most accurate temperature taking method.
Exergen markets two models of the TemporalScanner thermometer: a professional version for doctors' offices and hospitals, and a consumer model sold in major retailers nationwide. More than one billion temperatures are taken each year with the TemporalScanner. It is used in thousands of hospitals, clinics and pediatricians' offices across the country, as well as in millions of homes. For the third year in a row it is the #1 selling retail thermometer and #1 preference of pediatricians in the US. The Exergen TemporalScanner's performance is supported by more than 50 peer-reviewed published studies covering all ages from preterm infants to geriatrics and all care areas from hospitals to homes. For additional information, visit www.exergen.com.
1 Kemp, C. (2013). Temporal artery thermometers may rival rectal thermometers in ed. AAP News, 34(4).
2 Batra P, Goyal S. Comparison of rectal, axillary, tympanic, and temporal artery thermometry in the pediatric emergency room. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2013 Jan; 29 (1):63-6. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0b013e31827b5427.