Temporal Artery Temperature Measurement in the Neonate

Area of Science:

• Neonatal care
• Medical device evaluation
• Temperature measurement

Background:

• Accurate temperature monitoring is critical in neonatal care.
• Traditional methods like axillary and rectal thermometry have limitations.
• Novel non-invasive methods require rigorous validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the accuracy of an infrared temporal artery thermometer against the clinical standard axillary thermometer and the gold standard rectal thermometer in neonatal patients.
• To assess the influence of bed type and postmenstrual age on the accuracy of temporal artery temperature measurements.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study involving 49 neonatal patients.
• Simultaneous measurement of temporal artery (T_ta), axillary (T_ax), and rectal (T_r) temperatures.
• Statistical analysis comparing T_ta and T_ax against T_r, considering bed type and postmenstrual age.

Main Results:

• All measurement methods showed significant differences.
• Axillary temperature (T_ax) was closer to the gold standard rectal temperature (T_r) than temporal artery temperature (T_ta) (mean difference T_r-T_ax = 0.21°C vs T_r-T_ta = -0.34°C).
• Temporal artery thermometer accuracy improved with increasing postmenstrual age and was less accurate for infants in incubators compared to those in cribs.

Conclusions:

• The infrared temporal artery thermometer is not more accurate than the axillary thermometer for neonatal temperature assessment when compared to the rectal gold standard.
• Temporal artery thermometer accuracy is influenced by environmental factors (bed type) and patient factors (postmenstrual age).
• Further research may be needed to optimize the use of temporal artery thermometers in specific neonatal populations.