Assessment of hypothermia with a new "tympanic" thermometer.

OBJECTIVE

Rapid and accurate core temperature measurement is vitally important in trauma patients, especially in those with accidental hypothermia. We tested a new aural thermometer to measure "tympanic" temperatures and assessed its accuracy during normothermic and hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass.

METHODS

Tympanic, esophageal, and blood temperatures were compared in 10 patients undergoing open-heart surgery. In addition, the stability and reaction time of the tympanic thermometer was evaluated in 5 volunteers in a cold room, with and without facial fanning.

RESULTS

We observed a good linear correlation between tympanic and esophageal (r = 0.96) and blood (r = 0.81) temperature measurements during normothermia and hypothermia. There was no evidence of iatrogenic ear lesions in any of the patients. In the cold-room tests, stability was excellent and the time for adjustment of tympanic temperature measurement was about 2 min (with and without facial fanning).

CONCLUSION

The new tympanic thermoprobe is a simple, fast, and reliable device for measuring core temperature. The device was designed particularly for, and may be useful for, patients suffering from accidental hypothermia.