Temporal Artery Thermometry Proved Reliable for Children Under 2 Years

A research study published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing has found that the accuracy of temporal artery (TA) thermometry for measuring temperature of patients in the age group 0-24 months is similar to that of rectal thermometry. Furthermore, TA thermometry significantly minimizes the risks related to rectal thermometry while reducing 87% of nursing time. These benefits facilitate high-quality and efficient nursing care delivery, resulting in higher patient and family satisfaction levels.

The study was conducted on 40 inpatient subjects below two years of age who had fever, with a minimum temperature of 38°C. For each of the two methods, 40 measurements were taken for the purpose of time analysis and 450 sets of measurement were taken in all. Patients were seen to be significantly more comfortable with the TA thermometer than the rectal thermometer. According to the authors of the study, a comparison of thermometry readings using the rectal and TA methods did not yield a significant difference between measurements using the two methods to be statistically relevant. Thus, with the TA method now regarded as reliable as the rectal method, it was established that nurses can save significant time in executing one of the most frequently performed tasks of healthcare workers – taking temperature.

The study results were presented to the medical and nursing staff of the medical facility that served as the study site. Subsequently, the Exergen TemporalScanner used in the study was adopted as the benchmark for taking temperature and the facility has used it on over 15,000 patients since the presentation. Exergen’s TemporalScanner deploys a patent-protected technology that uses infrared radiation to sense heat emanating from the surface of the skin over the temporal artery. An arterial heat balancing system (also patented) makes adjustments for external temperature conditions so as to produce a medically reliable estimate of the body temperature of the subject.

Exergen’s chief executive, Dr. Francesco Pompei stated that his company launched this technology to meet the need of healthcare establishments for a reliable non-invasive thermometry method for use with patients across age groups. He emphasized that the study proves that TemporalScanner can serve as an effective replacement for rectal thermometry for patients below the age of two, as well as serve to enhance nursing staff productivity, patient comfort and reduce costs.

The recently published independent study takes the total number of published studies citing Exergen’s TemporalScanner to 33, ascertaining its accuracy and effectiveness for diverse age groups and clinical environments.