OBJECTIVE: To compare temperature readings of temporal artery and axillary thermometers in healthy late preterm and term infants in an effort to standardize practice. DESIGN: Descriptive comparative. SETTING: Thirty-bed, healthy mother/baby unit in an inner-city Level-1 trauma center, averaging 2,500 births per year. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy newborns (N = 125) admitted to mother/baby unit after birth, at least 35 weeks gestation, and weighing greater than 1,900 grams. METHODS: Temperatures were taken at regular intervals per unit protocol. At each interval temporal and axillary temperatures were recorded. RESULTS: Temporal temperatures were significantly higher (M = 36.9°C, SD = .59) than axillary temperatures (M = 36.7°C, SD = .68), t(124) = 6.74, p < .0001. Although statistical significance was shown between the two groups, no meaningful clinical difference was detected. CONCLUSION: Our study findings supported a new nursing practice standard for measuring infant temperatures in our mother/baby unit. Using temporal artery thermometers is now our unit's standard of care for healthy newborns.
OBJECTIVE: To compare temperature readings of temporal artery and axillary thermometers in healthy late preterm and term infants in an effort to standardize practice. DESIGN: Descriptive comparative. SETTING: Thirty-bed, healthy mother/baby unit in an inner-city Level-1 trauma center, averaging 2,500 births per year. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy newborns (N = 125) admitted to mother/baby unit after birth, at least 35 weeks gestation, and weighing greater than 1,900 grams. METHODS: Temperatures were taken at regular intervals per unit protocol. At each interval temporal and axillary temperatures were recorded. RESULTS: Temporal temperatures were significantly higher (M = 36.9°C, SD = .59) than axillary temperatures (M = 36.7°C, SD = .68), t(124) = 6.74, p < .0001. Although statistical significance was shown between the two groups, no meaningful clinical difference was detected. CONCLUSION: Our study findings supported a new nursing practice standard for measuring infant temperatures in our mother/baby unit. Using temporal artery thermometers is now our unit's standard of care for healthy newborns.
Authors: Mashette E Syrkin-Nikolau; Karen J Johnson; Tarah T Colaizy; Ruthann Schrock; Edward F Bell Journal: Am J Perinatol Date: 2017-04-10 Impact factor: 1.862