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The accuracy of a new infrared ear thermometer in patients undergoing cardiac surgery

[La précision d’un nouveau thermomètre auriculaire infrarouge chez des patients de cardiochirurgie]

Matthias Bock, MD DEAA^*,, Uta Hohlfeld, Kristine von Engeln, MD, Peter A. Meier, MD, Johann Motsch, MD^* and Abel J. Tasman, MD

^* From the Departments of Anesthesiology, and
Otorinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany;
the Department of Anesthesiology I, Zentralkrankenhaus Bozen, Bozen, Italy; and
Braun GmbH, Kronberg im Taunus, Germany.

Address correspondence to: Dr. Matthias Bock, Zentralkrankenhaus Bozen, Lorenz-Böhler-Str. 5, Bozen, Italy 39100. Phone: ++39-0471-908-673; Fax: ++39-0471-909-783; E-mail: matthias.bock{at}asbz.it

Purpose: To evaluate the equivalency of the prototype of a new infrared ear thermometer (IRT 4000) in comparison to the temperature measurements of a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) and a continual contact probe on the tympanic membrane.

Methods: After approval by the local Ethics Committee, 26 (six female and 20 male) patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery were included in a single center open trial. During surgery, temperature measurements were recorded with the IRT 4000 in the left ear, and with a tympanic contact probe in the right ear, as well as with a PAC as reference. Measurements with the infrared ear thermometers and continual PAC values were recorded every six minutes.

Results: The average temperature measured with the IRT 4000 was 0.08°C above the temperature of the PAC (95% confidence interval from –0.44–0.61°C).

Conclusion: Infrared ear thermometers 4000 temperature readings accurately reflect body core temperature and correlate well with the invasive PAC. Infrared ear thermometers may present a clinically useful alternative to the pulmonary artery thermometry for the measurement of core temperature in the perioperative setting or in the intensive care unit.

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