IP International Journal of Medical Paediatrics and Oncology 2023;9(1):32–35 Content available at: https://www.ipinnovative.com/open-access-journals IP International Journal of Medical Paediatrics and Oncology Journal homepage: https://www.ijmpo.com/ Original Research Article Comparison of the accuracy of digital axillary thermometer (DAT) with infrared forehead skin thermometer (IFST) measurements in healthy newborns Veenu Agarwal 1, *, Anubhav Goel 1 , Rakesh Shetty 1 1 Dept. of Paediatrics, Santosh Deemed to be University, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 24-01-2023 Accepted 25-03-2023 Available online 03-05-2023 Keywords: Digital axillary thermometer Bradycardia Hypoglycemia ABSTRACT Introduction: Temperature is an important vital sign. Body temperature is generally measured whenever there is suspicion of fever, but in neonates’ hypothermia is considered even more serious than fever. There are studies in pediatric intensive care units comparing various invasive methods of temperature measurement. Materials and Methods: This was a cross sectional comparative study conducted in postnatal wards and outpatient department of a teaching hospital. All consecutive 348 healthy term neonates between 0- 28 days of life whose parents consented for participation in the study were included. The axillary temp was taken with digital thermometer and forehead temperature were measured by temporal scanner device simultaneously. Doctor and caretaker both took the temperature measurement. Results: Out of total 348 patients 114 (32.7%) were males and 234(67.2%) were females. Mean birth weight was 2800±400 grams. Mean axillary temperature was 98.34±0.81 ◦ F, and forehead temperature was 97.81±0.89 ◦ F (p=0.44). There was a positive correlation between temperature measured using digital and infrared thermometer (r=0.914, p=0.00). The mean difference was −0.07 with limits of agreement −0.71 to 0.57. Conclusion: Digital axillary temperature was higher and closer to normal than infrared forehead temperature. Temperature readings by forehead infrared thermometry agree well with those by axillary digital thermometry in neonates. Hence both methods of temperature measurement can be used in neonates although Infra-red temporal touch is much easier technique than digital axilla temperature measurement This is an Open Access (OA) journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. For reprints contact: reprint@ipinnovative.com 1. Introduction Neonatal hypothermia after delivery is a worldwide issue, occurs in all climates and if prolonged can cause harm and affect survival. It is defined by the World Health Organization as an axillary temperature below 36.5◦C and is estimated to affect 11–92% of neonates. Risk factors include prematurity (birth prior to 37 weeks completed gestation), low birth weight (birth weight <2500 g), low maternal socioeconomic status, younger maternal age and birth outside of the hospital. The occurrence * Corresponding author. E-mail address: veenu2908@gmail.com (V. Agarwal). of hypoxemia, bradycardia, hypoglycemia and metabolic acidosis as a result of hypothermia contribute towards increased mortality. Temperature is an important vital sign. Body temperature is generally measured whenever there is suspicion of fever, but in neonates’ hypothermia is considered even more serious than fever. There are studies in pediatric intensive care units comparing various invasive methods of temperature measurement. 1 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, United Kingdom (NICE) guidelines recommend the use of axillary temperature in neonates. 2,3 Temperature charting in preterm low birth weight babies https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijmpo.2023.006 2581-4699/© 2023 Innovative Publication, All rights reserved. 32