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Determining fever in children: the search for an ideal thermometer
1Consultant paediatrician at the South London Healthcare NHS Trust, Sidcup, and an honorary senior lecturer at Guys, Kings and St Thomas School of Medicine, London.
Insights
Accurate fever detection in children is crucial. Infrared thermometers at the tympanic membrane site offer a promising combination of accuracy, speed, convenience, and cost-effectiveness for body temperature measurement.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Medical Devices
- Clinical Thermometry
Background:
- Body temperature measurement is critical for diagnosing fever, guiding pediatric treatment decisions.
- Accurate fever identification in children is vital; missed fevers can be serious, while false positives lead to unnecessary interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review various body temperature measurement sites and devices.
- To evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each method for accuracy, speed, convenience, safety, and cost-effectiveness.
Main Methods:
- Review of common body temperature measurement sites: axillary, rectal, oral, and tympanic membrane.
- Evaluation of commonly used devices: electronic and infrared thermometers.
Main Results:
- Each measurement site and device presents unique benefits and drawbacks.
- The infrared thermometer used at the tympanic membrane site appears to offer an optimal balance of key performance factors.
Conclusions:
- The search for the ideal body temperature measurement method continues.
- Infrared tympanic thermometers and oral/axillary electronic thermometers in newborns show significant promise for accurate and efficient fever detection.
Abstract:
Body temperature measurement is most commonly taken to confirm the presence or absence of fever. Many decisions concerning the investigation and treatment of children are based on the results of temperature measurement alone. Determining the presence of fever in young children is particularly important. A missed fever is serious, but a false-positive fever reading can result in unnecessary septic workups. The axillary, rectal, oral and tympanic membrane sites are most commonly used to record body temperature, and electronic and infrared thermometers are the devices most commonly used. Each site and device has numerous advantages and disadvantages, which are described in this article. The search for the means of measuring body temperature that best combines accuracy, speed, convenience, safety and cost-effectiveness goes on. The infrared thermometer and the tympanic site appear to offer such a combination. Electronic thermometers are also suitable when used orally or at the axilla in newborn babies.
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Step 2:
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