Temperature measurements in neonates: assessing the agreement of two methods

Abstract

Background: Neonatal temperature response during illness is unpredictable. Whereas accurate temperature measurement is an important diagnostic step in Neonatal practice. Abnormalties in temperature pattern may be a pointer to a sinister condition especially in neonates, whose thermoregulatory mechanism is immature. There are several methods of temperature measurements and the search for a suitable thermometry method in neonates continues. This study compared the forehead non touch infra-red thermometer (NTIT) with the axilllary mercury-in-glass (MIGT) method of temperature measurement in neonates. Method: Four hundred babies aged 1 to 28 days were recruited from the immunization clinic of the University of Teaching Hospital between August 2016 and May 2017. Temperatures were taken using both NTIT and MIGT in the standard way and recorded. Result:The mean age and SD was 5.10 ± 4.28 days. Pearson correlation showed a positive correlation between the Axillary Mercury-in-Glass and Forehead Non-Touch Infra-red thermometry readings (r = 0.426, p < 0.001).Bland-Altman method revealed a good agreement between both methods of thermometry as 95.5% of the readings were within the limits of agreement. Conclusion: Axillary Mercury-in-Glass thermometer and Forehead Non touch Infra-red thermometers have a good agreement and can be used interchangeably in neonates.