Temperature measurement: Must it be the forehead? A prospective cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Medical Devices
• Clinical Thermometry
• Biomedical Measurement

Background:

• Accurate body temperature measurement is crucial for clinical diagnosis and monitoring.
• Tympanic (ear) thermometry is widely accepted as a standard for core body temperature measurement.
• Non-contact methods like forehead thermometry offer convenience but require validation against established standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of forehead and wrist temperature measurements compared to tympanic thermometry.
• To determine the suitability of forehead and wrist sites for estimating core body temperature.
• To identify the preferred non-invasive site for temperature measurement.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 325 participants from a general hospital population.
• Simultaneous temperature readings were taken at the forehead, wrist, and tympanic site.
• Utilized CEFC RoHS K3 model for forehead/wrist and Braun Thermoscan 7 for tympanic measurements.

Main Results:

• Forehead temperature showed no significant difference compared to tympanic temperature (mean=36.6°C vs 36.6°C, p=0.108).
• Wrist temperature was significantly lower than tympanic temperature (mean=36.4°C vs 36.6°C, p<0.001).
• Forehead temperatures were significantly higher than wrist temperatures (mean=36.6°C vs 36.4°C, p<0.001).

Conclusions:

• Forehead temperature measurements are a reliable and accurate alternative to tympanic thermometry for assessing core body temperature.
• Wrist temperature measurements are less accurate and tend to underestimate core body temperature.
• The forehead is recommended as the preferred site for non-invasive temperature measurement over the wrist.