title: Body warmer and upper extremities position affect the accuracy of cutaneous thermometers during anesthesia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether axillary skin temperature can accurately reflect distal esophageal temperature.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, randomized study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Teaching hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  48 ASA physical status I and II adult patients undergoing abdominal surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients received standard general anesthesia. 19 patients had abducted upper extremities and an upper body surface warmer, 19 patients had abducted upper extremities with no upper body surface warmer, and 10 patients had adducted upper extremities with no upper body surface warmer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The temperatures were measured 60 minutes after the induction of general anesthesia. There was no significant difference between axillary skin temperature (36 +/- 1.7) (degrees C) and core temperature (36 +/- 0.7) (degrees C) when the upper body surface warmer was used. There was no difference between axillary skin temperature (35.5 +/- 0.4) (degrees C) and core temperature (35.8 +/- 0.4) (degrees C) when upper extremity was adducted 0 degrees.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  At 0 degrees of arm adduction, or at 90 degrees using the upper body, forced-air surface warmer, axillary skin temperature accurately identified the core temperature in patients during general anesthesia.
authors: Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, at Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, MO 63110-1093, USA. jeffrey_j_huang@hotmail.com
authors: J J
authors: JJ
authors: Huang
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Kurz
mesh_terms: D000758:Anesthesia; D001132:Arm / Q000502:physiology*; D001365:Axilla / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017694:Rewarming; D012881:Skin Temperature / Q000502:physiology*; D013821:Thermometers