title: Comparison of rectal, axillary, tympanic, and temporal artery thermometry in the pediatric emergency room.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Accurate 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.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The 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.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional observational study
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty 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.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All 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).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Temporal artery thermometry has the potential to replace rectal thermometry in a busy emergency room setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University College of Medical Sciences, Associated Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, India. drprernabatra@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Prerna
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Batra
authors.forename: Sudhanshu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goyal
mesh_terms: D001365:Axilla; D001831:Body Temperature; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012007:Rectum; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013699:Temporal Arteries; D062125:Thermometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014432:Tympanic Membrane