Minimal data exists on the accuracy of various sites for temperature monitoring in critically ill patients. This study evaluated a variety of temperature monitoring devices. Every two hours temperatures were monitored in a variety of sites (oral, axillary, rectal, tympanic, bladder). Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA, with p values < 0.05 being significant. Thirty critically ill patients were studied over a 24 hour period. Statistically significant differences were found between bladder (core) temperatures and oral and axillary temperatures measured with an electronic device (p < 0.001). Temperatures measured with a rectal probe connected to the bedside monitor and the tympanic membrane device in the core mode were similar to bladder temperatures. Temperatures measured with the tympanic device in the oral and rectal modes were significantly different from bladder temperature (p < 0.001). These results indicate that temperatures obtained with tympanic membrane thermometer in the core mode and the bedside monitor's rectal probe are similar to bladder temperatures in critically ill adults.
