Intra-operative temperature monitoring with two non-invasive devices (3M Spoton® and Dräger Tcore®) in comparison with the Swan-Ganz catheter

Abstract Background The measurement of core body temperature in the pulmonary artery (Swan-Ganz catheter) is regarded as the reference standard. Nowadays, new non-invasive methods of measuring core temperature have emerged, such as the 3M SpotOn® and the Drager Tcore® sensor. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on patients undergoing scheduled cardiac surgery. Both devices, and the Swan-Ganz catheter, were simultaneously evaluated. The correlation of temperature values was measured using the intra-class correlation coefficient and Spearman's rank or Pearson correlation analysis. The repeated-measurements version of the Bland and Altman test were used to determine the level of agreement. Results A total of 289 measurements were made. Analysis of Spearman rank correlation between the Swan-Ganz catheter and 3M SpotOn® pair yielded a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.82 [95% confidence interval (95% CI); 0.77–0.85, p  Conclusions Both the 3M SpotOn® and the Drager Tcore® provided a high degree of accuracy and precision in measuring the core temperature, and could be used for the control of normothermia in the patient undergoing cardiac surgery.