Comparison of continuous temperature measurement methods in the intensive care unit: standard bladder catheter measurements versus non-invasive transcutaneous sensor

Comparison of continuous temperature measurement methods in the intensive care unit: standard bladder catheter measurements versus non-invasive transcutaneous sensor | 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 Research Article Comparison of continuous temperature measurement methods in the intensive care unit: standard bladder catheter measurements versus non-invasive transcutaneous sensor Ulrike Elisabeth Ehlers, Jens Ulmer, Keller Mirja, Klein Carsten, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4554391/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract 1.1 Purpose Comparison of a wearable system for body core temperature measurement versus bladder and tympanic thermometers in an intensive care setting. Do continuous non-invasive sensors in the intensive care unit represent an alternative to current standard methods of invasive continuous bladder or low-invasive intermittent tympanic temperature measurement methods? 1.2 Method Between May and September 2023, a comparative investigation involving 112 patients was conducted in a 20-bed surgical intensive care unit to assess various temperature probes, including those placed in the tympanic tube, bladder, and skin. To achieve this, a wireless non-invasive sensor system provided by greenTEG AG, Switzerland, was affixed to different body locations (clavicular and lateral chest) of each catheterized patient (equipped with a temperature probe) admitted to the intensive care unit. Furthermore, tympanic temperatures were recorded at specified intervals. The measurement duration ranged from a minimum of six hours to a maximum of six days, resulting in the analysis of a total of 355 simultaneous temperature measurements. 1.3 Results In this study, a wearable temperature measurement system attached to two different body sites revealed a consistent negative bias compared to bladder temperature. In addition, the measurements were particularly influenced by body constitution. The tested system in all patients showed a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.45°C for the lateral chest and 0.50°C for the clavicular position. Tympanic measurements had a mean absolute error of 0.35°C. In patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 the MAE increased to 0.5°C for the lateral chest and 0.56°C for the clavicular position. In contrast, the tympanic measurement had a reduced MAE of 0.32°C, which is well below this threshold when compared to bladder measurements. 1.4 Conclusion The investigated system did not meet the clinically relevant acceptance criteria and showed low precision in correctly identifying fever episodes compared to invasive temperature probes, however its main advantage lies in its continuity and non-invasiveness. This makes it a potential alternative to intermittent tympanic measurement devices. In this study we were able to show, that in at least one subset of patients, the non-invasive and continuous device demonstrated a precision comparable to tympanic measurements. 1.5 Limitations The accuracy of all non-invasive methods was lower than in previous studies, suggesting that the use of bladder temperature as reference and user related variations may have introduced additional errors. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementaryinformations.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 17 Jun, 2024 Reviews received at journal 17 Jun, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Jun, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 16 Jun, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 12 Jun, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 12 Jun, 2024 First submitted to journal 09 Jun, 2024 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. 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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-4554391","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":315368928,"identity":"663d94da-6b72-4980-855d-245fab3d2bb4","order_by":0,"name":"Ulrike Elisabeth 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Computing","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4554391/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4554391/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003e1.1 Purpose\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eComparison of a wearable system for body core temperature measurement versus bladder and tympanic thermometers in an intensive care setting. Do continuous non-invasive sensors in the intensive care unit represent an alternative to current standard methods of invasive continuous bladder or low-invasive intermittent tympanic temperature measurement methods?\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003e1.2 Method\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBetween May and September 2023, a comparative investigation involving 112 patients was conducted in a 20-bed surgical intensive care unit to assess various temperature probes, including those placed in the tympanic tube, bladder, and skin. To achieve this, a wireless non-invasive sensor system provided by greenTEG AG, Switzerland, was affixed to different body locations (clavicular and lateral chest) of each catheterized patient (equipped with a temperature probe) admitted to the intensive care unit. Furthermore, tympanic temperatures were recorded at specified intervals. The measurement duration ranged from a minimum of six hours to a maximum of six days, resulting in the analysis of a total of 355 simultaneous temperature measurements.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003e1.3 Results\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this study, a wearable temperature measurement system attached to two different body sites revealed a consistent negative bias compared to bladder temperature. In addition, the measurements were particularly influenced by body constitution. The tested system in all patients showed a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.45\u0026deg;C for the lateral chest and 0.50\u0026deg;C for the clavicular position. Tympanic measurements had a mean absolute error of 0.35\u0026deg;C. In patients with body mass index (BMI)\u0026thinsp;\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;25 the MAE increased to 0.5\u0026deg;C for the lateral chest and 0.56\u0026deg;C for the clavicular position. In contrast, the tympanic measurement had a reduced MAE of 0.32\u0026deg;C, which is well below this threshold when compared to bladder measurements.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003e1.4 Conclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe investigated system did not meet the clinically relevant acceptance criteria and showed low precision in correctly identifying fever episodes compared to invasive temperature probes, however its main advantage lies in its continuity and non-invasiveness. This makes it a potential alternative to intermittent tympanic measurement devices. 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