Abstract
Objective
To compare and correlate the Tympanic Temperature (TT) readings with the Axillary Mercury
Thermometer (AMT) in the OPD setting.
Subjects and Methods
The study was carried out in the outpatient departments (OPD) of Pediatrics, ENT and Surgery,
Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad from June 1, 2008 to October 31, 2008. A total of 400
pediatric patients were included in the study. Both tympanic membrane and Axillary
temperatures were recorded in each patient. They were grouped into males and females and their
ages ranged from 0.1 years to 15.0 years (mean 5.347±4.208 years). Taking Axillary
temperatures as standard, tympanic temperature (TT) recordings were analyzed and compared.
An intra-class Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was calculated for closeness of correlation of
TT with axillary temperature.
Results
Mean temperature reading from the AMT was 98.046±1.3840 F while the mean TT reading was
97.867oF±1.5519.0 Overall Correlation between AMT and TT readings was 0.925 (Ï<0.00).
(Rawal Med J 2009;34: ).
Key words: Temperature, tympanic membrane, axilla
