Temperature Recording Sites in Infants, Children,and Adults
نویسندگان
1 Department of Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin
2 Department of Community Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran
3 General Practitioner, Iran
doi
چکیده
Background: Axilla, mouth, and rectum are the most common sites for thermometric measurement. There is no universally accepted belief about how to predict one of them from others.Methods: In a cross-sectional hospital-based study at two educational hospitals in Qazvin Province, mercury in glass thermometers were used and then calibrated with digital thermometer within ±0.1 0C. The axillary temperature was compared with oral or rectal ones in 50 infants, 100 children, and 100 adults.Results: The mean difference between axillary and rectal temperature in infants was 0.366 0C (± 0.21), while those between oral and axilary in children and adults were 0.667 0C (±0.37) and 0.4940C (±0.3), respectively.Among infants, 98% of the oral and rectal readings were stabilized at 5 and 3 minutes, respectively. In children,98% of the oral readings were stabilized at five but for axilla, 99% by 6 minutes. For adults, 95% of the oral readings were stabilized at 5 minutes while for axilla, it was 96% by 6 minutes.Conclusion: In less than 3 month old infants, axillary temperature accurately reflects the rectal temperature.Axillary and rectal thermometry in infants should be read after 5 and 3 minutes, while oral temperature in children and adults should be read after 6 and 5 minutes, respectively.