The Bottom Line: My recommendation is to save your money and buy a reusable digital thermometer. They are less expensive, more durable, and more accurate.
As a registered nurse, I have used various tympanic (ear) thermometers over the years. My review of ThermoScan can actually be applied to any brand or model of the thermometer.
I am going to start out by admitting my dissatisfaction and distrust of ALL tympanic thermometers. ThermoScan has proven no different than any of the others available.
Tympanic thermometers are EXTREMELY technique-dependant. Most people that I know (generally all medical professionals) NEVER get the technique mastered. As a result, wild fluctuations in temperatures can be recorded by taking multiple readings several seconds apart. Some of the readings will be incompatible with life!
I have read the research studies that show tympanic temperatures are more reflective of core body temperature than any other method of recording temperatures. Based upon my personal experience and that of many other nurses, I can only say HOGWASH!!!
My second complaint about the tympanic thermometers is that they are VERY fragile! NEVER under any circumstances should you drop (or throw) the device. IT WILL BREAK ... I PROMISE!!! For those of you that have already become frustrated with the thermometer and thrown it ... go ahead and discard it. The repair cost will be approximately what you paid for it initially (plus shipping charges).
OK, as an emergency room nurse I will admit to using the tympanic thermometers several times a shift. Generally, I select the tympanic thermometer for patients who have ankle injuries, wrist injuries, or lacerations. In other words, patients with whom I DON'T CARE WHAT THEIR TEMPERATURE IS!!!
I've yet to see a twisted ankle cause a fever, yet someone, someplace, somehow, decided that we needed to record the temperature of EVERY patient. So, in the interest of speed, I do use tympanic thermometers for these selected patients. And yes, the readings I get generally fall between 92.0 and 97.5 degrees (no need to leave comments about the 92.0-degree readings ... I know that it is a lower temperature than most corpses have).
OK, to be fair I have to mention the merits of tympanic thermometers as well. The major advantage is their speed, which I've already touched on. Additionally, (uh, let me think a minute here), oh yeah ... they are large enough not to get lost in the medicine cabinet and when they break you do not need to call your local HAZMAT Team to clean up the toxic mercury spill.
As a nurse, a major advantage that I see is that they get parents out of the habit of taking axillary (armpit) temperatures. Unfortunately, the parents then substitute one inaccurate method of taking a temperature with another. PARENTS PLEASE NOTE ... CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 4 YEARS NEED TO HAVE RECTAL TEMPERATURES TAKEN!!! as recommended by the American Academy of Paediatrics. Yes, it's a dirty task ... please wash your hands and thermometer afterwards (use cold, not hot water when washing the thermometer), yes, your child will cry during the procedure, and no, it does not hurt them (regardless of what they say).
My recommendation is to save your money and buy a reusable digital thermometer. They are less expensive, more durable, and more accurate.
Robert W. Stein, III, BSN, MSHA, RN, CEN, CHE
bobstein@lenurse.com
http://www.lenurse.com
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