J Trop Pediatr. 2011 Jun;57(3):236-8. doi: 10.1093/tropej/fmq084. Epub 2010 Sep 21.
Neonatal hypothermia is the fourth leading causes of neonatal death in Nepal. Thus, it is the caregivers' responsibility to identify the hypothermia by using valid and less time consuming method like hand-touch method. Therefore, we examined the diagnostic validity of hand-touch method against low-reading mercury (LRM) thermometer for detecting neonatal hypothermia. We assessed neonate's temperature first by hand-touch method, then by LRM thermometer and tympanic thermometer among 100 full-term neonates, delivered within 24 h in Maternity Ward of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Nepal. We used World Health Organization (1997) criteria for classification of neonatal hypothermia. The sensitivity and specificity of the hand-touch method for detection of neonatal hypothermia were 95.6% and 70.1% against LRM thermometer and 76.6% and 83% against the tympanic thermometer, respectively. Touching method is practical and therefore has a good diagnostic validity; it can be introduced in essential newborn care package after giving adequate training to caregivers.
新生儿低体温是尼泊尔新生儿死亡的第四大原因。因此，护理人员有责任通过使用有效的、耗时更少的方法（如触摸法）来识别低体温。因此，我们研究了触摸法对低读数水银（LRM）温度计检测新生儿低体温的诊断准确性。我们在尼泊尔特里布万大学教学医院的产科病房对 100 名出生后 24 小时内的足月新生儿首先使用触摸法，然后使用 LRM 温度计和鼓膜温度计评估新生儿的体温。我们使用世界卫生组织（1997 年）新生儿低体温分类标准。触摸法检测新生儿低体温的灵敏度和特异性分别为 95.6%和 70.1%，与 LRM 温度计相比，与鼓膜温度计相比分别为 76.6%和 83%。触摸法实用，因此具有良好的诊断准确性；在给予护理人员充分培训后，可以将其纳入基本新生儿护理包中。
