Thermometry in children

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.