Gender-Specific Effects on Tympanic Temperature of a Cohort Sample of 15 to 16 Year Old High School Students Rebecca Choi, Jessica Chung, and Justin Jinwon Lee Fairmont Preparatory Academy
Our experiment consisted of two studies. First we compared two different (based on prices) tympanic thermometers found at local pharmacies, to find the most precise one. The second part applied that finding to question if there is a difference in tympanic temperatures between fifteen-or-sixteen year old boys and girls. The first study aims to educate the public about which ear thermometer is most precise. The second part of the experiment is designed to recognize a difference in body temperature between 15 to16 year old boys and girls, if there is a distinction. We hypothesize that the Braun Thermoscan IR Ear Thermometer IRT4520 ($48) will be the more precise than the Red Cross Rapid Read Thermometer and that boys will have a slightly higher average temperature than girls.
Introduction
Materials and Methods
In order to most accurately determine the core body temperature, which is the temperature of the vital organs, ear temperatures are taken rather than oral temperature, rectal temperature, or underarm temperature. The reasons for determining body temperature by measuring the ear temperature are the following: tympanic thermometers measure the infrared heat generated by the eardrum and its surrounding tissues, which share the same blood supply with the hypothalamus (Netter), the part of the brain that controls body temperature; and body temperature is more accurately reflected sooner in the ear than at any other place in the body (Guyton). Thus, for children 6 months and older, clinical research has proven that the ear is the ideal site for indicating internal body temperature (American Red Cross). The topic of the investigation was determining body temperature utilizing tympanic thermometers. The objective of this two-part investigation was to study the effect of gender on body temperature in fifteen to sixteen year old high school male and female students. The first part of the experiment determined the precision of two best-selling tympanic thermometers found at local pharmacies. The two thermometers chosen were Braun Thermoscan IR Ear Thermometer IRT4520 and Red Cross Rapid Read Ear Thermometer. The second and central part of the experiment applied the most precise thermometer found in Part 1 and tested forty-four students, twenty-two boys and twenty-two girls, to prove or disprove the theory that gender would have an effect on body temperature.
Two tympanic thermometers that can be found at local pharmacies (Target, Walgreens, CVS, etc.) were used: the Braun Thermoscan IR Ear Thermometer IRT4520 and the Red Cross Rapid Read Ear Thermometer. First, the three experimenters had their left ear temperatures taken five times sitting down with the Braun Ear Thermometer. These results were recorded into a table (Table 1). The same process was done but with the Red Cross ear thermometer (Table 2). In total, after both ear thermometers were tested on each of the three experimenters, there were 15 temperature readings for each thermometer. Then the average and standard deviation were determined for each set of the 5 ear temperature readings. Whichever thermometer had a lower standard deviation among the sets of data was concluded as the more precise. Using the more precise thermometer (Braun IRT4520), twenty-two 15-16 year old girls and twenty-two 15-16 year old boys were asked to volunteer for the experiment and given a consent form (Appendix A) to sign. Additionally, it was very important to ask the volunteers if they were sick as that could result in inaccurate results. A new sanitary cover specifically designed for the Braun IRT4520 was used for each new participant. The participant’s temperature was taken 5 times in the left ear, sitting down. The results were recorded in a data table that included the participant’s five temperature readings and the participant’s gender and age. After gathering all the data, the average and standard deviation of each participant’s temperature readings was calculated followed by the total average and standard deviation of the group of boys and the group of girls. These results were compared and analyzed to finalize a conclusion.
Cal Lab: The International Journal of Metrology
40
Jul • Aug • Sep 2013