Bedside Infrared Thermometry Compared With Continuous Zero- Heat-Flux Thermometry– An Experimental and Clinical Study

Bedside Infrared Thermometry Compared With Continuous Zero- Heat-Flux Thermometry– An Experimental and Clinical Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Bedside Infrared Thermometry Compared With Continuous Zero- Heat-Flux Thermometry– An Experimental and Clinical Study Otto Makkonen, Marja Silvasti-Lundell, Ann-Christine Lindroos, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8681007/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study compared standard infrared thermometers used in emergency rooms (ER) and wards to a Zero-Heat-Flux (ZHF) thermometry device and evaluated its feasibility for continuous bedside temperature monitoring. In 60 volunteers, five alternative ZHF sensor placements were assessed against the conventional forehead position (“ZHF-forehead”). Based on these results, continuous ZHF-forehead monitoring was evaluated in 24 hip-fracture patients in an ER (21 patients) and ward (11 patients). Concurrent ZHF and infrared forehead (“IR-forehead”) and ear canal measurements (“IR-ear”) were compared using Bland-Altman analysis (bias, limits of agreement). Among alternative placements, the neck (“ZHF-neck”) showed the closest agreement with ZHF-forehead (0.2, -0.5–0.8 °C). Compared to ZHF-forehead, ZHF-neck did not show improved agreement with either IR-forehead (ZHF-forehead: 0.0, -0.5–0.5 °C vs. ZHF-neck: -0.3, -1.1–0.5 °C) or IR-ear measurements (ZHF-forehead: 0.2, -0.3–0.8 °C vs. ZHF-neck: -0.1, -0.8–0.7 °C). All ER patients showed stable ZHF-forehead temperature profiles, whereas 4 of 11 ward patients had unreliable measurements. Bedside ZHF-forehead measurements in the ER and ward showed moderate agreement with infrared measurements (0.2; -0.4–0.7 °C). In conclusion, ZHF-forehead thermometry showed moderate agreement with point-of-care infrared methods in volunteers and patients, and provided stable continuous bedside temperature measurements in the ER and ward. Health sciences/Diseases Health sciences/Health care Health sciences/Medical research Core body temperature zero-heat-flux temperature thermometry hip fracture continuous temperature measurement Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryGraphs.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 16 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 15 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 14 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 14 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8681007","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":641582719,"identity":"d13b51f0-0117-4d3e-9232-efda35bc4708","order_by":0,"name":"Otto 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Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Core body temperature, zero-heat-flux temperature, thermometry, hip fracture, continuous temperature measurement","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8681007/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8681007/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This study compared standard infrared thermometers used in emergency rooms (ER) and wards to a Zero-Heat-Flux (ZHF) thermometry device and evaluated its feasibility for continuous bedside temperature monitoring. In 60 volunteers, five alternative ZHF sensor placements were assessed against the conventional forehead position (“ZHF-forehead”). Based on these results, continuous ZHF-forehead monitoring was evaluated in 24 hip-fracture patients in an ER (21 patients) and ward (11 patients). Concurrent ZHF and infrared forehead (“IR-forehead”) and ear canal measurements (“IR-ear”) were compared using Bland-Altman analysis (bias, limits of agreement).\nAmong alternative placements, the neck (“ZHF-neck”) showed the closest agreement with ZHF-forehead (0.2, -0.5–0.8 °C). Compared to ZHF-forehead, ZHF-neck did not show improved agreement with either IR-forehead (ZHF-forehead: 0.0, -0.5–0.5 °C vs. ZHF-neck: -0.3, -1.1–0.5 °C) or IR-ear measurements (ZHF-forehead: 0.2, -0.3–0.8 °C vs. ZHF-neck: -0.1, -0.8–0.7 °C). All ER patients showed stable ZHF-forehead temperature profiles, whereas 4 of 11 ward patients had unreliable measurements. 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