Normal Rectal, Auditory Canal, Sublingual and Axillary Temperatures in Elderly Afebrile Patients in a Warm Environment

Abstract

Fifty hospital inpatients were selected, who, on the basis of their history and on clinical and laboratory findings, were believed not to have a febrile illness. Body temperature was measured simultaneously at four sites, in order to compile a normal range of temperature at each site for patients under these conditions. The observed range of rectal temperature was 36.7-37.5 degrees C, auditory canal temperature 36.4-37.2 degrees C, sublingual temperature 36.2-37.0 degrees C, and axillary temperature 35.5-37.0 degrees C.

Considerations for the measurement of core, skin and mean body temperatures

“…Numbers above the confidence intervals are the total number of subjects, whilst those below indicate the number of contributing investigations. Sources: Axilla: Ilsley et al (1983), Darowski et al (1991), Childs et al (1999). Sublingual: Linder and Carmichael (1935), Ivy (1944), Barcroft and Edholm (1946), Consolazio et al (1963), , Fox et al (1973b), Collins et al (1977), Edwards et al (1978), Erickson (1980), Kolanowski and Gunter (1981), Ilsley et al (1983), Mairiaux et al (1983), Thatcher (1983), Baker et al (1984), Eriksson et al (1985), Keilson et al (1985), Terndrup et al (1989), Darowski et al (1991), Marion et al (1991), Mackowiak et al (1992), Maw and Taylor (1992), Castle et al (1993), McGann et al (1993, Nakamura et al (1997).…”

“…Sources: Axilla: Ilsley et al (1983), Darowski et al (1991), Childs et al (1999). Sublingual: Linder and Carmichael (1935), Ivy (1944), Barcroft and Edholm (1946), Consolazio et al (1963), , Fox et al (1973b), Collins et al (1977), Edwards et al (1978), Erickson (1980), Kolanowski and Gunter (1981), Ilsley et al (1983), Mairiaux et al (1983), Thatcher (1983), Baker et al (1984), Eriksson et al (1985), Keilson et al (1985), Terndrup et al (1989), Darowski et al (1991), Marion et al (1991), Mackowiak et al (1992), Maw and Taylor (1992), Castle et al (1993), McGann et al (1993, Nakamura et al (1997). Auditory canal: Edwards et al (1978), Terndrup et al (1989), Darowski et al (1991), Chamberlain et al (1995), Shibasaki et al (1998), Childs et al (1999), Easton et al (2007), Jay et al (2007b), Nagano et al (2010), Lee et al (2011), Taylor (2012.…”

“…Most recently, Buono et al (2014) demonstrated this gradient to be modified by ambient conditions; increasing in the cold and narrowing in the heat. Consequently, standardisation of measurement depth is important if absolute temperature is of interest, yet some have not recognised this (Darowski et al, 1991;Mariak et al, 1993Mariak et al, , 1994Mellergård, 1994). Furthermore, movement of faecal matter within the bowel is challenging, as this lengthens the conductive path when a sensor becomes lodged within the stool.…”

Pitfalls in the Diagnosis and Therapy of Infections in Elderly Patients – A Mini-Review

“…In patients living in a warm environment (e.g. overheated rooms), fever often remains undetected by sublingual temperature measurement [33,34] . The use of a threshold of 37.5 ° C for ear measurement has comparable sensitivity and specificity for predicting fever as compared to rectal measurement [35] .…”

Temperatura basal em idosos asilados

“…A literatura consultada relata que, enquanto a temperatura oral matinal em adultos jovens gira em torno de 37,2°C, em idosos saudáveis e residentes em domicílios sua média é entre 36,8°C e 36,9°C. 1,[12][13][14] Idosos hospitalizados e sem doenças febris apresentam temperatura retal entre 37,2°C e 37,4°C e axilar em torno de 36,3°C. 15,16 A temperatura oral matinal em idosos institucionalizados oscila entre 36,2ºC e 36,5ºC.…”