Emergency Medical Minute

Contributor: Taylor Lynch, MD Educational Pearls: A recent study published in a pediatric journal in April 2025 compared temporal and oral thermometers Paired temperature measurements (temporal and oral temperature within 30 minutes) were obtained from 1,412 pediatric patients 26% of patients had statistically different temporal and oral temperatures The temporal reading was always lower than the oral reading Children less than 12 years old were 2-3x more likely to actually have that statistical difference in temperatures The study also evaluated 1,000 adult patients 36% had a temporal temperature that was 0.5 degrees Celsius lower than the oral temperature Reasons for the statistical difference between the two types of thermometers: Environment: temporal thermometers are affected by ambient room temperature, diaphoresis, and inaccuracy in measuring temperature at the site of the temporal artery Physiologic: a patient with inadequate perfusion will not have an accurate temporal reading Impact: O