Body temperature measurement is an important aspect of the assessment of neutropenic patients because temperature alterations may indicate critical changes in health status. Monitoring temperature in the traditional fashion is often disruptive to sleep, which is essential to physical and psychological recovery. The purpose of this study is to determine if skin temperature devices are accurate and can be used to monitor trends in body temperature in adult neutropenic patients.Oral and skin temperatures were simultaneously measured in 25 neutropenic patients every 4 hours for 24 hours. The skin temperature thermometers were not accurate in estimating oral temperature in neutropenic patients, and therefore cannot be recommended for use in this population.
