Skip to content

Comparison of Three Methods of Taking Temperatures in the Well Baby Nursery

Comparison of Temporal Artery, Axillary, and Rectal Temperatures in Newborn Patients in the Well Baby Nursery.

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00762489
Enrollment
104
Registered
2008-09-30
Start date
2008-10-31
Completion date
2009-08-31
Last updated
2011-04-29

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Newborn Infants

Keywords

Temporal artery thermometry, Rectal temperature, Axillary temperature, Newborns, Temperature measurement

Brief summary

Body temperature measurement is one of the standard vital sign measurements in newborn babies in order assess their health status. Temperatures are taken on a regular basis throughout the newborn's stay on the well-baby floor. A temperature that is elevated above the normal range for age or depressed below the normal range for age may be a sign of illness in a newborn. There are many methods that may be used to record this temperature. Traditionally, axillary (under the arm) and rectal (in the rectum) sites have been used. Recently, a new method of temperature measurement has become available. Temporal artery thermometers are a non-invasive method to measure the baby's temperature by means of a light that is shone on the forehead that can read your baby's temperature quickly. It is not clear whether this method is accurate in the newborn period. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of temporal artery temperature measurement. This will be achieved by observing the axillary measurement, rectal temperature measurement, and temporal artery temperature measurement taken at approximately the same time in each infant. These measurements will be compared to each other to determine if temporal artery thermometry is as reliable a measurement as rectal and / or axillary temperature measurements. We plan to compare Hypothesis: Temporal artery thermometry of the immediate newborn infant is an accurate measurement of temperature in this age group.

Interventions

OTHERTemporal artery thermometer temperature

Newborn infants had a temporal artery temperature taken within a few minutes of the axillary and rectal temperatures. The axillary and rectal temperatures are taken via methods which are standard of care.

Sponsors

Christiana Care Health Services
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
No minimum to 24 Hours
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* term newborns \>/= 37 weeks gestational age * late preterm infants \>/= 35 weeks gestational age * admitted to the well baby nursery following delivery * \< 24 hours of age

Exclusion criteria

* Infants \< 35 weeks gestational age * Infants currently under a radiant warmer or who have been under a radiant warmer \< 1 hour prior to temperature measurement.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Accuracy of temporal artery temperature compared to rectal and axillary temperature measurements.All temperatures will be taken within 5 minutes of each other

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026