Concordance of temperature measurements in the preterm and term neonate using three thermometers

Background: Measuring temperature is an essential part of nursing care. It has been widely accepted as an indication of a patients' clinical condition. Often this enables early intervention and/or treatment as a change in body temperature can indicate the presence of infection or disorders of the thermoregulatory system. Objective: The purpose to this study was to investigate agreement between the BD digital thermometer, the Genius 2™ tympanic thermometer and the SureTempⓇ Plus 692 thermometer. Method: A comparative design was used to evaluate the level of agreement between each thermometer in preterm and term infants, ranging from 24 weeks gestation to post term. Results: A total of 238 infants were enrolled in the study, 52 infants with less than 28 weeks gestation, 112 with 29-36 weeks, 69 infants with more than 36 weeks. In general, BD digital and SureTempⓇ Plus 692 measurements were in closer agreement than the BD digital and the Genius 2™ tympanic thermometer. The mean difference between the BD digital and the SureTempⓇ Plus 692 measurements was -0.185 (±2 SD:-0.561 to 0.91). The mean difference between the BD digital and Genius 2™ was -0.368 (±2 SD:-01.078 to 0.342). The BD digital and SureTempⓇ Plus 692 showed a negative but non-significant (r=-0.07; p=0.273) correlation between the differences and the averages of the measurements. The correlation of the differences and the averages of the BD digital and Genius 2™ measurements was also negative and significant (r=-0.53; p < 0.001).