Fever, defined as a rectal temperature above 38[degrees]C, is a common finding in children brought to pediatric EDs. While rectal thermometry is considered the gold standard, technological advances allow for detection of skin temperature using an infrared device. In this study, Fortuna and colleagues compared the validity of infrared detection with rectal thermometry.

A total of 200 children (mean age, 1.4 years) who visited a tertiary pediatric ED were included in the study. A trained staff member took each child's temperature first with a rectal thermometer and then, immediately afterward, with a noncontact infrared thermometer aimed at the center of the forehead.

Results showed that the infrared temperature readings consistently deviated from the rectal temperature readings by more than 2[degrees]C; infrared readings were higher than those of rectal thermometry in children without fever and lower than rectal thermometry in children with fever. Neither room temperature nor the children's age affected the accuracy of the infrared thermometer readings. Because infrared thermometry was less accurate than rectal thermometry, it shouldn't be used routinely to measure temperature in young children.