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Thermometry in children
Prerna Batra1, Abhijeet Saha, Moonis Mohammed Akbar Faridi
1Department of Pediatrics, University College of Medical Sciences and Associated Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Insights
Accurate pediatric temperature measurement is crucial for detecting fever and hypothermia. Temporal artery thermometry is recommended for all ages, while tympanic artery thermometry is suitable for children over two.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Medicine
- Medical Thermometry
- Clinical Practice Guidelines
Background:
- Accurate temperature measurement is vital for pediatric fever and hypothermia detection.
- Ideal methods should be safe, noninvasive, cost-effective, and reflect core body temperature.
- Invasive methods like pulmonary artery, esophageal, bladder, and nasopharyngeal thermometry are difficult in clinical practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current evidence on pediatric temperature measurement techniques.
- To identify the most accurate and practical methods for assessing core body temperature in children.
- To provide guidance on preferred thermometry methods based on age and invasiveness.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on pediatric thermometry.
- Comparison of invasive and noninvasive temperature measurement techniques.
- Evaluation of accuracy, safety, and clinical applicability of different methods.
Main Results:
- Rectal thermometry is considered close to core temperature but has drawbacks.
- Tympanic artery thermometry is effective for children over two years of age.
- Temporal artery thermometry is gaining precedence for all pediatric age groups due to its noninvasive nature.
Conclusions:
- Temporal artery thermometry is a preferred noninvasive method for pediatric patients of all ages.
- Tympanic artery thermometry is a suitable alternative for children older than two years.
- These methods offer a balance of accuracy, safety, and ease of use in pediatric care.
Abstract:
Accurate measurement of temperature is important for detection of fever and hypothermia in pediatric patients. Ideal temperature-measurement technique should be safe, easy, noninvasive, cost effective, time efficient, and should precisely reflect core body temperature. Pulmonary artery is the closest to hypothalamus and best reflects the core temperature. Other sites used are distal esophagus, urinary bladder and nasopharynx. All these methods are invasive and difficult to use in clinical practice. Amongst the noninvasive methods, rectal thermometry is considered to be the closest to core temperature, but it has its own drawbacks. With the current evidence available, tympanic artery thermometry for children more than 2 years of age and temporal artery thermometry in all age groups are taking precedence over other methods.
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