Comparison of Oral and Tympanic Temperatures

¶ … studied was whether it is better to measure temperature with an oral thermometer or with a tympanic one. It is possible to research the question because prior research has already found that there is a difference between the accuracy of the temperature taken with the two thermometers. The problem is significant because the researchers wanted to find out if the difference between the two methods would help patients out more.

The article in question discusses whether there is any significant difference between taking an oral or tympanic temperature for patients. The actual application was for surgical patients, but can be extrapolated to other patient types. The research question can be easily researched, and it is a needed topic of research. There are no ethical issues with the research question proposed.

The literature review was short, but it did include all of the elements that are necessary for a review. The article included ten different previous studies which provided a foundation for the new research. The references were mainly within the decade prior to the new research.

The research question was designed based on the problem and the purpose. The authors used the literature review to set the stage for the study also. Unfortunately, no theoretical framework was given so it was not possible to match any framework with the research.

The variables are clearly stated in the article. The two primary variables are the different types of thermometers that the researchers use, but they also use them specifically with patients who are being prepared for surgery. The question is whether the method of taking the temperature will make a difference in the care given.

The next question regards what the methodology of the study was and the sample that was used. The method of research was reported as a repeated measures design. The researchers wanted to determine if which method of acquiring a patients temperature was more reliable over time. They did this by taking the temperature of the sample at different times and using the two methods. The only requirements for people included in the study was that they be greater than 18 years of age and not have any condition which could artificially alter the temperature readings and that they had no history of mental illness. The authors did not mention any particular research design being used other than the method already discussed. The tools used for the collection of data were the two thermometers types already mentioned.

Data was collected on a group of 257 patients who were selected based on the criteria listed above. The authors attempted to take precautions to make the sample pool as random as possible in that it was selected from the patients that entered the hospital and not preselected. The data collection procedure was to take temperatures using both methods within two minutes of each other with the different instruments. The researchers found that accuracy depended on whether the actual core temperature was high or low. Tympanic was more accurate at high temperatures and oral at lower temperatures.