Inaccuracy of the Clinitemp Skin Thermometer

Abstract

The Clinitemp Fever Detector (Clinitemp) is a newly marketed thermometer consisting of plasticencased thermophototropic esters of cholesterol that change color over a specific short-range of temperature. The manufacturer states that the instrument can identify fever by measuring skin temperature in children. On the basis of a patient's report of one inaccurate Clinitemp, we undertook to investigate the accuracy of this thermometer. One hundred fifty-two children presenting to the Children's Hospital Emergency Room had their temperature taken with two thermometers, an electronic thermometer that had been checked for accuracy with a National Bureau of Standards thermometer and the Clinitemp. Clinitemps, purchased over a two-month period from three pharmacies, were tested on different children. Thirteen of thirty children (43%) with fever (rectal temperature ≥38.3 C (101 F) or oral temperature ≥(37.8 C) (100 F) identified by the electronic thermometer, were correctly classified as having fever using the Clinitemp. When fever was defined to include children with a rectal temperature ≥38.0 C (100.5 F) or an oral temperature of ≥37.4 C (99.5 F), the Clinitemp correctly identified 13 (32.5%) of 40 children with fever. There appears to be an appreciable risk that someone with a serious illness may delay seeking medical attention on the basis of a normal temperature as measured by the Clinitemp.