title: Are infrared and thermistor thermometers interchangeable for measuring localized skin temperature?
abstract: Localized skin temperature must be measured by accurate and reliable thermometers to effectively evaluate treatment outcomes, monitor changes, and predict potential complications. This study compared localized skin temperature measurements with a contact thermistor thermometer used as a reference standard and a noncontact infrared (IR) skin thermometer to determine their interchangeability with calculated Bland-Altman limits of agreement. Fifty-five adults ages 50 to 89 participated in the study in which data were collected in a climate-controlled room over 3 measurement periods, 1 week apart. The thermistor and IR thermometers were interchangeable with a limit of agreement of +/- 1.5 degrees C. This limit of agreement is acceptable as a reference standard for IR thermometers to measure localized skin temperature in clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. kelechtj@musc.edu
authors.forename: Teresa J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Kelechi
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wiseman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001831:Body Temperature; D001835:Body Weight; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012881:Skin Temperature; D013022:South Carolina; D013814:Thermal Conductivity; D013817:Thermography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013821:Thermometers / Q000592:standards*