Rectal, axillary, and tympanic temperatures inneonates and infants with or without fever

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the agreement between temperature measured at the axilla or tympanic to rectum using standard techniques. Patients and Methods: We studied 50 neonates and 50 infants admitted to special care baby unit and Pediatric Gastroenterology Department with or without fever. Preterm, sick, malnourished neonates and uncooperative and crying infants were excluded from the study. Verbal consent from mothers was taken before the measurements. To adjust for rectal temperature, 0.55°C added to neonates and 0.65°C to infants' axillary temperature, 0.1°C to neonates, and 0.45°C to infants' tympanic membrane temperature. Results: There was a strong correlation (r) between 0.79 and 0.89 for axillary temperature with rectal temperature in neonates and infants, males and females, and for tympanic temperature with rectal in male infants. However, moderate correlation (r) was between 0.73 and 0.76 for tympanic temperature with rectal temperature in overall neonates and male and female infants. Axillary temperature missed 1% of pyrexia cases, whereas tympanic membrane measurements overestimate pyrexia in 5% of cases. Conclusion: It is safe reliable and convenient to use the axillary route for measurements of temperature in neonates and infants with or without fever.