• Prerna Batra.
• Department of Pediatrics, University College of Medical Sciences, Associated Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, India. drprernabatra@yahoo.com
• Pediatr Emerg Care. 2013 Jan 1;29(1):63-6.

BackgroundAccurate measurement of temperature in the emergency room is important for diagnosis as well as investigating a patient. Various noninvasive methods thermometry are available today, but there is no consensus on the most accurate method of thermometry.Study ObjectiveThe present study was conducted to compare different methods of temperature measurement available in the emergency room, that is, rectal, axillary, and temporal artery and tympanic membrane.DesignThis was a cross-sectional observational studyPatientsFifty febrile and 50 afebrile children aged 2 to 12 years attending the pediatric emergency room of a tertiary care hospital were included. Temperatures were measured using rectal, axillary, tympanic (right and left), and temporal artery thermometers and were compared.ResultsAll the temperatures correlated well with rectal temperature, with temporal artery temperature showing the best correlation (correlation coefficients, 0.99 in the febrile and 0.91 in the afebrile group).ConclusionsTemporal artery thermometry has the potential to replace rectal thermometry in a busy emergency room setting.

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