Racial Differences in Detection of Fever Using Temporal vs Oral Temperature Measurements in Hospitalized Patients

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Abstract
Temporal artery (forehead) thermometers are frequently used in hospitals, but studies of these thermometers lack details on racial composition of study populations.1,2 Recent studies have found that pulse oximetry can lead to missed hypoxemia in Black patients.3 Similar racial differences in thermometry could lead to missed fever, delayed diagnoses, and increased mortality in Black patients. We evaluated the performance of temporal compared with oral thermometry in detecting fever in Black and White patients with infection.