Nursing research
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The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the axillary site for temperature measurement in the postoperative patient. Axillary electronic, axillary mercury, rectal mercury, and core body temperatures were obtained in 18 postoperative patients. ⋯ Electronic axillary were the poorest indicator of core temperature, r = .92, and were on average .6 degrees C lower than core. The correlation of -.64 between age and postoperative core temperature suggests that the elderly are most susceptible to hypothermia in a surgical setting.