Temporal Artery Temperature Measurement in the Neonate

Abstract

Objective We compared an infrared temporal artery thermometer with our clinical standard axillary thermometer for temperature measurements in neonatal patients.

Study Design We measured temporal artery (T_ta), axillary (T_ax, clinical standard), and rectal (T_r, gold standard) temperatures of 49 infants. The difference between T_r and T_ta was compared with that between T_r and T_ax, and the data were analyzed based on bed type and postmenstrual age.

Results The mean T_ta, T_ax, and T_r were 37.16 (SD 0.36) °C, 36.61 (SD 0.30) °C, and 36.82 (SD 0.30) °C, respectively. The measurements by these methods were all significantly different. The mean T_r-T_ax was 0.21 (SD 0.26) °C, and the mean T_r-T_ta was −0.34 (SD 0.37) °C, indicating that T_ax was closer to T_r than was T_ta (p < 0.0001). T_ta agreed more closely with T_r for infants in cribs than for those in incubators. Adjusting for bed type and body weight, with each week of postmenstrual age, the discrepancy between T_r-T_ta and T_r-T_ax decreased by 0.005°C (p = 0.034).

Conclusion Compared with the gold standard, T_r, T_ta is not more accurate than T_ax. The temporal artery thermometer was less accurate for infants in incubators than for infants in cribs. The accuracy of temporal artery temperature increased with postmenstrual age.

Keywords

temporal artery temperature - axillary temperature - rectal temperature - neonate - infant

Note

The authors thank the patients who participated and their parents, who granted consent for their participation. The authors thank Frank H. Morriss, Jr., MD, for advice about the Bland-Altman analysis. Ms. Syrkin-Nikolau was supported by a summer research fellowship from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, which was funded by NIH grant T35 HL007485. This work was also supported by grant UL1 RR024979, awarded from the NIH to support the University of Iowa Institute for Clinical and Translational Science. The temporal artery thermometer was purchased by the investigators and not provided by the manufacturer, who had no knowledge of the study or its results.

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