Toward a chronopsy: Part III. Automatic monitoring of rectal, axillary and breast surface temperature and of wrist activity; effects of age and of ambulatory surgery followed by nosocomial infection.

Data of core and breast surface temperature and motor activity collected automatically with ambulatory devices, reveal circadian rhythms of different prominence in these various potential chronobiologic markers. Chronobiologic serial sections further allow the study of any alterations of the circadian rhythm parameters following ambulatory surgery. An approach using miniaturized instrumentation and methods of time series analysis may signal the danger of postoperative complications and, if it prompts timely preventive measures, may increase the safety of ambulatory surgery in particular.