Effect of Tachypnea on the Estimation of Body Temperature by an Oral Thermometer

Hermann BOERHAAVE introduced clinical thermometry into the practice of medicine in 1709, and since that time a measurement of body temperature has been included in the early evaluation of most sick patients.¹ This is because useful clues about the nature and severity of a patient's illness can often be derived from the pattern and magnitude of the temperature elevation.^2,3 There is some controversy about the best site for measuring body temperature in adult outpatients: The rectal temperature measurement is commonly believed to be more reliable than the oral or axillary because the rectum is more protected from the effects of.