Research From Exergen Corporation Shows Morning-Only Temperature Readings May Miss up to Half of All Fevers

Accurate Temperature Taking Requires Twice Daily Readings at Home

WATERTOWN, Mass., Dec. 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With families continuing to work and attend school in the midst of rising COVID outbreaks, screening for fever, a primary symptom of COVID-19, has never been more important. Research from Exergen Corporation, makers of the #1 thermometer sold nationwide, says fever screenings in the morning may be misleadingly low based on the body’s long recognized circadian rhythms. Therefore, people should take their temperatures both in the morning before leaving home and at dinnertime at the end of the day.

“With COVID-19 now rampant, temperature-taking has become a fact of life, but that doesn’t mean people understand how to get an accurate reading of fevers. The only way fevers can be accurately detected is for families to add twice daily temperature measurements with an accurate thermometer at home – before leaving in the morning and when returning at end of day,” said Francesco Pompei, Ph.D., CEO of Exergen Corporation. “Non-contact thermometers are widely known to be inaccurate and cannot be relied upon to detect fevers. Only the Exergen TemporalScanner has been proven by extensive clinical studies, and used daily by millions of nurses and doctors. It is by far the best choice for your family.”

The company has launched a Twice Daily educational campaign, including an informative video to communicate why taking your temperature twice daily should be the new normal, just like wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. The company has also developed other educational materials, which can be found, along with more than 80 peer-reviewed clinical studies that support Exergen’s accuracy, at www.exergen.com.

A number of studies affirm that body temperature varies during different times of the day and night, weekly, and seasonally. The studies include one of the largest-scale analyses of circadian cycles of human body temperature that shows predictable temperature variation. The study published in Chronobiology International, The Journal of Biological and Medical Rhythm Research, shows that the average human body temperature actually varies up to one degree, based on the time of day. In the study, 93,225 peoples’ temperatures were tracked daily, weekly, and throughout the four seasons for a full year using a temporal artery thermometer. Researchers found that body temperatures follow a circadian rhythm, lowest between the hours of 6-8AM and highest between 6-8PM.

A second study, published in the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, shows that fever incidence is lower at morning triages than at evening triages. The study analyzed 93,225 triage temperatures from a Boston emergency department (ED) (2009-2012) and 264,617 triage temperature measurements from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS, 2002-2010), making this the largest study of body temperature since the mid-1800s. Boston data were investigated exploratorily, while NHAMCS was used to corroborate Boston findings and check whether they were generalized. NHAMCS results are nationally representative of the US Emergency Departments. The analyses focused on adults.

An article by Reuters in The New York Times referenced a third study, publication pending, that suggests we might be missing infectious disease by taking temperatures in the morning, when fevers are lowest. According to the abstract, fever range temperatures were about half as common in the morning than at night. The study looked at 295,406 US emergency department visits, including nationally representative results. Patients were less likely to have detectable fevers during mornings, with especially large morning-evening differences during influenza outbreaks (national RR=0.56, 95%CI=0.47-0.66). This suggests morning screenings could miss otherwise-detectable cases. Twice-daily screenings could be a simple solution.

ABOUT EXERGEN CORPORATION
Exergen manufactures and markets two series of the TemporalScanner thermometer: a professional version for hospitals and clinics, and a consumer version sold in major retailers nationwide. More than two billion temperatures are taken each year with TemporalScanners. Used in thousands of hospitals and clinics across the country as well as in millions of homes, TemporalScanners are the # preference of pediatricians, #1 preference of nurses and #1 selling retail thermometer. The Exergen TemporalScanner’s accuracy is supported by more than 80 peer-reviewed published studies covering all ages from preterm infants to geriatrics and all care areas from hospitals to homes. For additional information, visit www.exergen.com.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/290784fe-022d-4371-bf54-087ce8fe450b

Contact: Sarah Ciuba
Rosica Public Relations
sarah@rosica.com
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