Table 8.

Different sites for temperature measurement, advantages and disadvantages for field use [200]

	Advantages	Disadvantages	Suitability for prehospital use	Logistic considerations	Field tested
Skin (heat flux)	Noninvasive	Low correlation with core temperature	High	Skin temperature affected by environment, e.g. cold or wet	Yes (experimental animal model)
Epitympanic	Minimally invasive. Correlates with brain temperature	Influenced by ambient temperature and insulation of ear canal. Affected if ear canal contains water or snow [202].	Moderate-high	Insulation of the external auditory canal improves the reliability of the reading. Thermistor technology ideal; infrared technology not reliable	Yes
Rectum	Commonly used in hospital	Lags behind core temperature when rewarming	Moderate	Needs to be inserted deeply (> 15 cm) to avoid measuring temperature of cold feces	Yes
Bladder	Allows to monitor urinary output	Can be affected by cold diuresis. Impractical for field use	Low	Mostly monitor based probes	No
Oesophageal	Best correlation with core temperature	Requires an advanced airway in place. Needs to be positioned in lower third of oesophagus for reliability	Moderate	Mostly monitor based (only one hand-held device)	Yes