Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 Hypothermia as a Disorder
- 2 Epidemiology and Estimating Preventable Deaths in Accidental Hypothermia
- 3 Facts and Myths about Hypothermia and its Treatment
- 4 Measurement of Patient's Body Temperature
- 5 Prehospital Management of Hypothermia
- 6 Thermal Insulation
- 7 Airway Management in Hypothermic Patients
- 8 ECG in Hypothermia
- 9 Hypothermia as a Reversible Cause of Cardiac Arrest
- 10 The Role and Tasks of Polish Medical Air Rescue
- 11 Trauma and Hypothermia
- 12 Prehospital Management of Avalanche Victims
- 13 Prehospital Rewarming in Hypothermia. Indications, Methods, Problems and Pitfalls
- 14 Coagulopathies in Hypothermic Patient
- 15 Changes of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Medications in Hypothermic Patients
- 16 Extracorporeal Therapy in Patients in Severe Hypothermia
- 17 Vascular Access for Extracorporeal Circulation
- 18 Problems and Pitfalls of Qualification for Extracorporeal Treatment of Patients in Severe Hypothermia
- 19 Procedure of Extracorporeal Treatment of Hypothermic Patients
- 20 Recommendation of National Consultant in the Field on Emergency Medicine
- 21 Accidental Hypothermia: the Need for the International Hypothermia Registry
- 22 Qualification for Extracorporeal Rewarming Medical Report
4 - Measurement of Patient's Body Temperature
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 January 2018
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 Hypothermia as a Disorder
- 2 Epidemiology and Estimating Preventable Deaths in Accidental Hypothermia
- 3 Facts and Myths about Hypothermia and its Treatment
- 4 Measurement of Patient's Body Temperature
- 5 Prehospital Management of Hypothermia
- 6 Thermal Insulation
- 7 Airway Management in Hypothermic Patients
- 8 ECG in Hypothermia
- 9 Hypothermia as a Reversible Cause of Cardiac Arrest
- 10 The Role and Tasks of Polish Medical Air Rescue
- 11 Trauma and Hypothermia
- 12 Prehospital Management of Avalanche Victims
- 13 Prehospital Rewarming in Hypothermia. Indications, Methods, Problems and Pitfalls
- 14 Coagulopathies in Hypothermic Patient
- 15 Changes of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Medications in Hypothermic Patients
- 16 Extracorporeal Therapy in Patients in Severe Hypothermia
- 17 Vascular Access for Extracorporeal Circulation
- 18 Problems and Pitfalls of Qualification for Extracorporeal Treatment of Patients in Severe Hypothermia
- 19 Procedure of Extracorporeal Treatment of Hypothermic Patients
- 20 Recommendation of National Consultant in the Field on Emergency Medicine
- 21 Accidental Hypothermia: the Need for the International Hypothermia Registry
- 22 Qualification for Extracorporeal Rewarming Medical Report
Summary
A bit of history
The first medical thermometer, based on Gallileo's concept, was crafted by Sanctorius of Padua. The relevant information was published in 1612. Yet the person who popularised the use of temperature measurement of patients was a German physician, Carl Wunderlich. After having performed more than a million of measurements on 25,000 patients, he calculated the average temperature of a healthy person to be 37°C, and defined “fever” as body temperature exceeding 38°C.
Temperature scales
In Poland, as in many countries, Celsius scale is used in medical measurements. The other legally approved temperature scale in Poland is Kelvin. As Kelvin scale is base unit of SI system, the term “degree” does not apply to it. So, in order to express relationship between the two scales we can say: “Temperature 0 degrees Celsius is 273.15 Kelvin.” The difference stems from the fact that in Celsius scale 0 was set as a point of freezing of water, whilst in Kelvin scale 0 is absolute zero – theoretically lowest possible temperature.
There are only five countries in the world where Fahrenheit scale is used instead of Celsius: The Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Islands, Palau and… United States of America. It is rumoured that German scientist Fahrenheit accepted as 0 in his scale the lowest temperature of winter season 1708/1709 in his hometown Gdańsk (–17.8°C). Similar scale to Fahrenheit, with 0 at absolute zero, is Rankine scale. Romer, Delisle, Newton and Réaumur scales are nowadays almost extinct. Yet, in 1841 there were at least 18 temperature scales!
Temperature measurements
Temperature cannot be measured directly like length or weight. A sensor which changes its physical properties must be used, for instance:
• change of volume of liquid (classic glass thermometers, e.g. containing mercury);
• change in resistance (thermistor and resistance temperature detector – RTD);
• generation of electric voltage in place of contact of two metals (thermocouple);
• change of colour (liquid crystal thermometer);
• deformation of bimetals (thermostat);
• emission of heat radiation (pyrometer, infrared sensor – IR);
• change of parameters of semiconductor contactors (integrated circuit – IC).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Hypothermia: Clinical Aspects Of Body CoolingAnalysis Of Dangers Directions Of Modern Treatment, pp. 43 - 52Publisher: Jagiellonian University PressPrint publication year: 2016