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Published on: March 14, 2013
A comparison of mid-forehead and axillary temperatures in newborn intensive care
J Robertson-Smith1, F T McCaffrey1, R Sayers2
1Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Dunedin Hospital, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Objective:
To evaluate accuracy of mid-forehead (MFH) thermometry compared with digital axilla (DAT) temperatures in infants in newborn intensive care.
Study Design:
A comparative study of MFH and DAT temperatures of newborn infants receiving tertiary-level intensive care. All admissions were considered and the following exclusion criteria applied: 'in extremis', hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy or non-English-speaking parents. Foot temperatures, infant and environmental variables were measured.
Result:
In all, 783 readings were obtained in 100 infants with a birth weight range 515 to 4885 g (mean 2152 g). The between-person correlation was 0.30 (P < 0.001) and the within-person correlation was 0.52 (P < 0.001). Bland-Altman plots showed wide 95% confidence intervals in the differences between MFH and DAT measurements (-0.87 to 1.16 °C). Differences were affected by infant variables measured. MFH more accurately predicted DAT measurements in smaller neonates and were less accurate in neonates requiring Bubble Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP).
Conclusion:
MFH thermometry is not able to replace DAT temperature recording in the newborn intensive care.
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