From: Multiple trauma management in mountain environments - a scoping review
 | 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 |