Nasal vs. Axillary Skin Temperature monitoring in the neonatal population

Description

Temperature measurement is an important vital sign and is especially crucial to monitor in neonates as they are unable to effectively regulate their own temperature. This lack of ability to regulate their body temperature puts them at risk for hypothermia which has been recognized as an independent risk factor for deaths in newborns. Multiple sites have been used for measuring temperature, each with their own pros and cons. Variability also exists among sites, with some consistently measuring higher than others. The most common routes for measurement of this important vital sign differ depending on the clinical setting in which a patient happens to be. The most common practice in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is to measure temperature on a patient?s skin overlying the liver, while our operating room?s standard of care is measurement using a nasal temperature probe. Due to the different modes utilized, we feel there is potential for discrepancy. We propose this study to determine whether there is a difference in measured temperatures between these two sites and whether there is a consistent gradient of difference. Also, while nasal temperature monitoring is our standard of care in the operating room, there is not much in the current literature regarding the use of nasal temperature in the neonate population, making it even more important to compare to the standard skin temperature used in the NICU.

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