Journal of Tropical Pediatrics Advance Access originally published online on June 28, 2005
Journal of Tropical Pediatrics 2005 51(4):242-244; doi:10.1093/tropej/fmh106
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brief Report |
Comparison of Axillary, Rectal and Tympanic Temperature Measurements in Children Admitted with Malaria
1 Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) Centre for Geographic Medicine Research, Coast, Kilifi, Kenya, 2 Neurosciences Unit, Institute of Child Health, London, UK
Dr CRJC Newton, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Collaborative Programme, PO Box 230, Kilfi, Kenya. E-mail <cnewton{at}kilifi.mimcom.net>.
We compared axillary, rectal and tympanic temperatures in children admitted with severe malaria. The axillary temperatures were 0.74°C (95% limits of agreement 0.85 to 2.33°C) less than rectal temperatures and tympanic temperatures 0.42°C (95% limits of agreement 0.16 to 2.44°C) less than rectal temperatures. The difference was greater on admission than 24 hours later. These differences may be important in defining criteria for clinical syndromes.