Comparison of Carotid Artery Surface Temperature versus Axillary Surface Temperature in Children Undergoing Surgeries under General Anesthesia: A Prospective Observational Study.

CONTEXT: Pediatric patients are exceptionally vulnerable to intraoperative hypothermia due to their anatomical characteristics and the thermoregulatory impairment caused by anesthetic agents. Accurate core temperature monitoring is critical.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of noninvasive carotid artery surface and axillary surface temperatures against standard nasopharyngeal core temperature in children under general anesthesia.

SETTINGS AND

DESIGN

A prospective, randomized, double-blind observational study conducted at a tertiary care hospital.

SUBJECTS AND

METHODS

A total of 130 children (American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status I-II, aged 1-6 years) undergoing elective surgeries lasting over 2 h were randomized into two equal cohorts (n = 65 each). Postintubation, Group A had nasopharyngeal and axillary probes placed, while Group B received nasopharyngeal and carotid surface probes. Temperature and hemodynamic parameters were recorded at 15-min intervals for 120 min.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The independent Student's t-test, Pearson's correlation, and Bland-Altman analysis were utilized (SPSS v26.0).

RESULTS

Carotid artery surface temperature strongly correlated with nasopharyngeal temperature, displaying a minimal mean bias of 0.10°C (P > 0.05). Conversely, axillary temperature significantly underestimated core temperature by 1.0°C to 1.3°C throughout the intraoperative period (P < 0.0001). Hemodynamic parameters remained comparable across both the groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Carotid artery surface thermometry is a highly reliable and noninvasive alternative to nasopharyngeal core temperature monitoring, whereas axillary temperature lacks sufficient accuracy.