Body temperature measurements in the clinic; evaluation of practice in a Norwegian hospital

(1) The aim of this study was to determine the degree of agreement between the requirements of medical staff for body temperature measurements for clinical use, as defined in a previous study, and current practice in two departments in a Norwegian university hospital.

(2) The results showed that few of the highest-ranked requirements for body temperature measurements were regarded by health personnel as having been fulfilled.

(3) It will be necessary to change current practice in order to obtain agreements between these requirements and the performance of temperature measurements. This will help to improve the basis for diagnosis and treatment and provide more efficient body temperature measurement.

Keywords: Core temperature measurements; Thermometer; Quality assurance