Umbilical temperature correlation with core and skin temperatures at rest, in the heat and during physical activity.

PURPOSE

to determine the correlation of umbilical temperatures (T) with simultaneously recorded chest wall temperature (T) and rectal temperature (T) in adults during rest, heat exposure and exercise.

METHODS

A total of 28 healthy men, wearing different types of clothing (athletic garb, a spandex full body heating garment, firefighter bunker gear) had average and peak umbilical, chest wall and rectal temperature measurements taken during sedentary temperature stabilisation stages, heat exposure periods and active exercise phases.

RESULTS

Curvilinear relationships were noted between T and T compared with T and their association became noticeably positive and linear at approximately 35.5 °C. Polynomial regression analysis of T with linear and quadratic forms of T and T indicated an overall R of 0.657 and 0.767, respectively. Bivariate analysis of a restricted data set (where T and T ≥35.5°), indicated that T was significantly associated with T (r = 0.710, p <0.001; r  = 0.841, p <0.001) and T was also significantly associated with T, but less so (r = 0.570, p <0.001; r = 0.699, p <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

the umbilicus offers a non-invasive, peripheral site for measurement of temperature that more closely correlated with body core temperature than T when core temperature was ≥35.5 °C.