Comparative Study of Measuring Body Temperature by Mercury and Digital Thermometer

Mercury is a dangerous substance for human health and mercury thermometers are major pollutant for environment. Using less dangerous and less expensive devices like digital thermometer can be an alternative for mercury thermometers. The aim of this study was to compare the body temperature measurement by mercury and digital thermometer. In this descriptive- analytical study, 542 patients (331 Female and 211 Males) were selected through convenience sampling. Data was gathered by demographic information form. Body temperature was measured simultaneously by digital and mercury thermometer while each thermometer was placed axillary, and after 5 minutes they were read by a nurse. The mean temperature measured by mercury and digital thermometer was 36.48 ± 0.84 and 36.51 ± 0.87, respectively. There was no statistical significant difference between measurement by mercury and digital thermometer. For detecting fever, digital thermometer had 85.4% and 95.7% sensitivity and specificity respectively. Positive and negative predictive value for digital thermomentr were 81.1% and 96.8%, respectively. Regarding low sensitivity of digital thermometer, it can be concluded that mercury thermometer is still suitable device to detect fever.