Comparison of tympanic and rectal thermometry: Diagnosis of neonatal hypothermia in Uganda

Abstract

Although newborn body temperature monitoring is not a routine occurrence in labour wards in Uganda, postnatal hypothermia is a significant problem. This study was undertaken to find a convenient and accurate method of measuring body temperature in order to assess the prevalence of neonatal hypothermia in a low-income tropical setting. Tympanic thermometry was compared to rectal thermometry in three hundred newborns up to 90 minutes after birth.