The impact of environmental factors in pre-hospital thermistor-based tympanic temperature measurement: a pilot field study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Few pre-hospital services have the possibility to accurately measure core temperature (T core). Non-invasive estimation of T core will improve pre-hospital decision-making regarding the triage and management of hypothermic patients. Thermistor-based tympanic temperature (T tymp) correlates well with T core in controlled studies; however, little is known about the feasibility of using T tymp under field conditions. This study assessed the impact of pre-hospital environmental factors on the accuracy of T tymp . Deep rectal temperature (T rect) was used as a substitute for T core .

Methods

Normothermic volunteers (n = 13) were exposed to four simulated field conditions producing local cooling of the head and ear canal. After exposure, T tymp was recorded every 15 s f

SUBMITTER: Skaiaa SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4581419 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature