[Oral temperature measurement using Craftemp]

The performance of oral, electronically measured body temperature with Craftemp (Astra Meditec) in routine use in medical wards was investigated. Rectal measurement with conventional Hg-thermometer was used as a reference method. The Craftemp method turned out to be unacceptably inaccurate: 30.8 per cent of the measurements of rectal-oral temperature difference were subject to a variation around the mean larger than +/- 0.4 degree C. The standard deviation of the rectal-oral temperature differences was 0.51 degree C, and the range -1.2 degrees C to +3.0 degrees C. Until an alternative method for measurement of body temperature is proven accurate in the clinical routine, the established method of rectal measurement should not be abandoned.