A comparison of axillary and tympanic membrane to rectal temperatures in children

Abstract

(AUC 0.903 and 0.903, respectively). Conclusion Axillary temperature measurement is as good as tympanic membrane temperature measurement and can be used in daily clinical practice or at home. By increasing the optimum fever cut-off point for axillary and tympanic membrane temperature to 37.8oC, we find sensitivity 81% and 88%, specificity 86% and 73%, PPV 95% and 91%, and NPV 95% and 91%, respectively.

Diagnostic Test Accuracy of New Generation Tympanic Thermometry in Children under different cutoffs: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…The cut-off points were various. Among the included articles, 7 [5,8,18,[33][34][35][36] studies set the optimal cut-off and the other 5 [3,13,14,20,21] studies analyzed the diagnostic test accuracy of tympanic thermometry under different cut-offs. The range of the cutoff point was from 37.0℃ to 38.0℃.…”

Diagnostic Test Accuracy of New Generation Tympanic Thermometry in Children under Different Cutoffs: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…The cut-off points were various. Among the included articles, 7 [5,8,18,[33][34][35][36] studies set the optimal cut-off and the other 5 [3,13,14,20,21] studies analyzed the diagnostic test accuracy of tympanic thermometry under different cut-offs. The range of the cutoff point was from 37.0℃ to 38.0℃.…”

“…There was only one study [20] reported diagnostic test accuracy under the cut-off 37.4℃. In this study, for ear temperature (37.4°C), sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 0.96, 0.36, 0.82, and 0.73 respectively.…”

“…The cut-off 37.5℃ was used in 2 studies [20,35] and a total of 390 pediatric patients were involved.…”

“…The cut-off 37.6℃ was used in 4 studies [3,13,20,21] and a total of 746 pediatric patients were involved. Spearman's correlation coefficient of sensitivity and specificity was 0.089 (P = .638) and the ROC plane showed no curvilinear trend, suggesting that there was no heterogeneity from threshold effect.…”