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Body temperature measurement provides important information for evaluation of pediatric patients. Because of the role that central nervous system thermoreceptors play in temperature homeostasis, accurate measurement at core body sites has long been sought.1 Rectal temperature, often considered the "gold standard" for clinical use, does not correlate well with deep measurements.2,3 Pulmonary artery catheters and deep rectal probes measure core temperature accurately4 but are not practical for clinical use. The tympanic membrane shares the same vascular supply that perfuses the hypothalamus and is an excellent, readily accessible site for core temperature measurement.1 Although indwelling contact-type tympanic membrane temperature probes provide accurate data, patient discomfort and complications such as perforation have restricted their use.4,5
Kenney et al. (Tue,) studied this question.