title: Temperature measurement in intensive care patients: comparison of urinary bladder, oesophageal, rectal, axillary, and inguinal methods versus pulmonary artery core method.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Comparisons of urinary bladder, oesophageal, rectal, axillary, and inguinal temperatures versus pulmonary artery temperature.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intensive Care Unit of a University-Hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-two intensive care patients requiring a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients requiring PAC and without oesophageal, urinary bladder, and/or rectal disease or recent surgery were included in the study. Temperature was simultaneously monitored with PAC, urinary, oesophageal, and rectal electronic thermometers and with axillary and inguinal gallium-in-glass thermometers. Comparisons used a Bland and Altman method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The pulmonary arterial temperature ranged from 33.7 degrees C to 40.2 degrees C. Urinary bladder temperature was assessed in the last 22 patients. A total of 529 temperature measurement comparisons were carried out (252 comparisons of esophageal, rectal, inguinal, axillary, and pulmonary artery temperature measurements in the first 20 patients, and 277 comparisons with overall methods in the last patients). Nine to 18 temperature measurement comparisons were carried out per patient (median = 13). The mean differences between pulmonary artery temperatures and those of the different methods studied were: oesophageal (0.11+/-0.30 degrees C), rectal (-0.07+/-0.40 degrees C), axillary (0.27+/-0.45 degrees C), inguinal (0.17+/-0.48 degrees C), urinary bladder (-0.21+/-0.20 degrees C).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In critically ill patients, urinary bladder and oesophageal electronic thermometers are more reliable than the electronic rectal thermometer which is better than inguinal and axillary gallium-in-glass thermometers to measure core temperature.
authors.affiliation: Fédération Anesthésie-Douleur-Urgences-Réanimation, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nîmes, 5 rue Hoche, 30029 Nîmes, France. jean.yves.lefrant@chu-nimes.fr
authors.forename: J-Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lefrant
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: J Emmanuel
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: de La Coussaye
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Benbabaali
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lebris
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zeitoun
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mari
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saïssi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ripart
authors.forename: J-J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Eledjam
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001365:Axilla / Q000502:physiology; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology*; D003422:Critical Care; D004947:Esophagus / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007264:Inguinal Canal / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000502:physiology*; D012007:Rectum / Q000502:physiology; D013821:Thermometers; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000502:physiology