Comparison of oral and tympanic temperatures in adult surgical patients.

Monitoring patients' temperatures is an important aspect of clinical nursing. In surgical areas, we rely on accurate temperature readings to determine appropriate therapy. Various body sites have been used for temperature measurement: oral, axillary, rectal, and tympanic. Oral temperature readings have long been considered the gold standard. However, oral temperature readings may be contraindicated, depending on surgical incision and level of consciousness or in cases of seizure. Tympanic temperature monitoring is often the next choice. The literature supports the accuracy of tympanic monitoring; however, some clinicians have questioned its accuracy. This study used a repeated-measures design to determine the reproducibility of tympanic and oral temperature measurements. A difference of 0.2 degrees C was considered clinically significant. Outcome data indicated that variability was similar with oral and tympanic temperatures. There was no significant difference between average tympanic and average oral temperatures. Therefore, this study supports the use of tympanic thermometers in addition to oral thermometers in obtaining temperatures.