%0 Journal Article
%T A pilot study of agreement between noninvasive thermometers and the core temperature of postoperative cardiothoracic surgical patients.
%A Ekers T
%A Adamson N
%A Wells A
%A Presneill J
%J Aust Crit Care
%V 36
%N 5
%D 09 2023 16
%M 36123238
%F 3.265
%R 10.1016/j.aucc.2022.08.008
%X Reliable and accurate temperature assessment is fundamental for clinical monitoring; noninvasive thermometers of various designs are widely used in intensive care units, sometimes without a specific assessment of their suitability and interchangeability. This study evaluated agreement of four noninvasive thermometers with a pulmonary artery catheter temperature.<BR>This prospective method comparison study was conducted in an Australian adult intensive care unit. One hundred postoperative adult cardiothoracic surgery patients who had a pulmonary artery catheter (Edwards Lifescience) in situ were identified. The temperature reading from the pulmonary artery catheter was compared to contemporaneous measurements returned by four different thermometers-temporal Artery (TA, Technimed), Per Axilla (Axilla, Welch Allyn), Tympanic (Tymp, Covidien), and the NexTemp® (NEXT, Medical Indicators [used per axilla]). The time required to obtain each noninvasive temperature measurement was recorded.<BR>Agreements between each noninvasive temperature and the pulmonary artery catheter standard were assessed using summary statistics and the Bland-Altman method comparison approach. A clinically acceptable maximum difference from the standard was defined as ±0.5 °C. Temperature agreement with the pulmonary artery standard (mean difference °C [95% limits of agreement °C]) was greatest for Tymp (-0.20 [-0.92 to 0.52]), intermediate for AXILLA (-0.37 [-1.3 to 0.59]) and NEXT (-0.71 [-1.7 to 0.27]), and least for TA (-0.60 [-2.0 to 0.81]). The proportion of measurements within ±0.5 °C of the standard were TYMP (81%), AXILLA (63%), TA (45%), and NEXT (30%). The time to obtain measurements varied, with the Tymp and TA estimates immediate, the AXILLA a mean of 40 s (standard deviation = 11 s), while NEXT results were at the manufacturer-recommended 3-min point.<BR>Tympanic thermometers showed closest agreement with the pulmonary artery standard. Deviations by more than 0.5 °C from that standard were relatively common with all noninvasive devices.