REVIEW Agreement of infrared temporal artery thermometry with other thermometry methods in adults: systematic review Panagiotis Kiekkas, Nikolaos Stefanopoulos, Nick Bakalis, Antonios Kefaliakos and Menelaos Karanikolas Aims and objectives. To critically review and synthesise the evidence on the agreement of temporal artery thermometry with invasive and noninvasive ther- mometry methods in hospitalised adults. Background. Noninvasive thermometry methods aim at combining patient com- fort and ease of use with satisfactory accuracy of temperature measurements. Infrared temporal artery thermometry is based on the detection of heat radiated from this artery in the forehead and temporal region. Design. Systematic literature review. Methods. A literature search was conducted in Pubmed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Embase. Data were extracted from twenty method- comparison studies published between 2002–2015. Methodological quality of selected studies was evaluated. Results. Temperature measurements of temporal artery were compared with pul- monary artery, urinary bladder, oesophageal or nasopharyngeal ones in eight studies for the whole temperature range. Accuracy and precision of temporal artery thermometry exceeded recommended levels of 0Á3°C in three and six stud- ies respectively. Likewise, in nine studies that compared temporal artery tempera- ture measurements with oral and ear-based ones, satisfactory agreement and variability was reported in five and none of them respectively. With regard to fever and hypothermia, although specificity of temporal artery thermometers for detecting these disorders was satisfactory, their sensitivity was low. Conclusions. Existing evidence does not support that temporal artery thermome- try can replace common invasive and noninvasive thermometry methods in adult patients. Relevance to clinical practice. Health care professionals are recommended to avoid the use of infrared temporal artery temporal artery thermometry in adults, or be cautious about the accuracy and precision of its readings, until improved devices are developed. What does this paper contribute to the wider global clinical community? • Temporal artery thermometers are not recommended for screen- ing for fever and hypothermia in adult patients, especially for those in critical care or perioper- ative settings, considering that their sensitivity in detecting these disorders is low and their mea- surements are affected by vaso- motor activity and ambient temperature fluctuations. • Clinicians need to be aware of the nonsatisfactory accuracy and precision of temporal artery ther- mometers, and thus avoid their use by preferring invasive, or more accurate noninvasive, ther- mometry methods. Authors: Panagiotis Kiekkas, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, Nursing Department, Technological Educational Institute of Western Greece, Patras; Nikolaos Stefanopoulos, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, Nursing Department, Technological Educational Institute of Western Greece, Patras; Nick Bakalis, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, Nursing Depart- ment, Technological Educational Institute of Western Greece, Patras; Antonios Kefaliakos, PhD, RN, Scientific Cooperator, Nursing Depart- ment, Technological Educational Institute of Western Greece, Patras, Greece; Menelaos Karanikolas, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medi- cine, St. Louis, MO, USA Correspondence: Panagiotis Kiekkas, Assistant Professor, 76 Strati- gou Konstantinopoulou Str., Aroi, Patras 263-31, Greece. Telephone: +30 2610 274789. E-mail: kiekkpan@otenet.gr © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Journal of Clinical Nursing, doi: 10.1111/jocn.13117 1