A comparison of the tympanic and axillary temperatures of the preterm and term infant.
A correlational research design was used to examine the accuracy between the axillary and tympanic temperature measurements of the preterm and term infant. Also examined was the effect of weight and environment on the temperature measurements. A convenience sample of 40 neonates (preterm, n = 20; term, n = 20) was selected. A correlation of 0.815 (p = 0.001) was found between the axillary and tympanic temperatures of all subjects, and correlations of 0.861 (p = 0.001) and 0.582 (p = 0.01) were revealed for the preterm and term infants, respectively. When weight was used as a covariate, there was no significant difference in the two temperature measurements by group (preterm, term), but there was a trend for tympanic temperatures, and the difference between axillary and tympanic temperatures, to differ by environment (radiant warmer, incubator, or open crib).
Hicks
M A
MA
University of Texas Medical Branch-School of Biomedical Sciences, Galveston, USA.
D001365:Axilla; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012494:Sampling Studies; D014432:Tympanic Membrane