Temperature monitoring using urinary bladder catheter in children
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Comparison between temperature sensing Foley urinary catheter and oesophageal temperature probe for measurement of core body temperature in children undergoing open heart surgery – an observational study
IRAS ID
277776
Contact name
Rohit Saxena
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN12998019
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Central body temperature (CBT) is the temperature of the internal environment of the body. Critically ill children are susceptible to wide fluctuations in CBT due to disease itself or treatment (active cooling or warming). Both low or high temperature has serious adverse effects on the body. Hence, it is really important to measure CBT accurately. Pulmonary artery (large blood vessel carrying blue blood from the heart to the lungs) blood temperature monitoring using a thin catheter (tube) was considered the ‘clinical gold standard’. However, this is highly invasive with a potential for serious damage to heart muscle or heart valves especially in small children. Currently, insertion of a temperature monitoring catheter into the food pipe or the rectum (back passage) is the most commonly employed method in children. This may cause pain, perforation, trauma, bleeding and incorrect placement.
Kidneys receive a lot of blood from the heart to help them produce urine. This makes urinary bladder (bag like structure where urine is collected in the body) a possible location for temperature monitoring . All children undergoing open heart surgery (and most critically ill children) require a urinary catheter (tube) for (i) monitoring urine production rate and (ii) relief of urinary retention as a result of medications. Temperature is measured using a special urinary catheter (commercially available in sizes suitable for children) with an ability to measure body temperature. Therefore, no additional invasive procedure is required. There are only two very small studies in children with mixed results in its use. There were also concerns regarding its accuracy during condition of low urine production- not an uncommon situation in ill patients. Lack of research in this field has prompted us to study the accuracy of these catheters for measuring central body temperature during normal and low urine flow rates in children.REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
20/NI/0101
Date of REC Opinion
30 Sep 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion