Assessment of an Aural Infrared Sensor for Body Temperature Measurement in Children

Abstract

A newly marketed device measures body temperature using an ear probe that detects infrared radiation from the tympanic membrane. It is simple to use and gives a reading in 1-2 seconds. Its accuracy was evaluated in a group of children, aged 1 month through 10 years, by comparing it with either rectal (n = 65), or oral (n = 48) temperatures obtained with a standard electronic thermometer, IVAC (San Diego, CA). The average elapsed time between readings was 11 minutes. Overall, 60 rectal and 40 oral temperatures (88.5%) were higher with IVAC than with the aural sensor. The difference ranged from -0.7°C to +2.5°C. The correlations between the infrared ear-probe values and the rectal and oral temperature readings were 0.77 and 0.75, respectively. Because the average reading using the aural sensor was lower than that using the IVAC, the sensitivity of the aural sensor for detecting clinically important levels of fever was low. None of seven patients with a rectal temperature of 39°C or more and only 7 of 27 with a rectal temperature of 38°C or more were identified by the aural sensor as having temperatures above these cutoff levels. Similarly, none of three patients with an oral temperature of 39°C or more and only three of eight with an oral temperature of 38°C or more were identified correctly by the aural sensor. The authors conclude that the aural sensor is unsatisfactory for detecting clinically significant fevers in a pediatric outpatient setting.