NEW ZEALAND VETERINARY JOURNAL, cilt.70, sa.3, ss.159-164, 2022 (SCI-Expanded)
Aims To compare alternative methods of recording body temperature (BT) with rectal temperature (RT) in clinically healthy dogs. Methods This prospective study included 97 healthy mixed-breed dogs (43 females and 54 males). The gingival temperature (GT) was collected by using a human non-contact, infrared forehead thermometer, while ocular temperature (OT) and metacarpal pad temperature (MPT) were obtained with an infrared thermal camera. The degree of agreement was determined using the Bland-Altman method, with RT considered as the reference temperature. Results A total of 382 readings were obtained from four different anatomical regions. The mean difference and their 95% limits of agreement for the differences between RT-GT, RT-OT, and RT-MPT were 0.18 degrees C (-0.95 degrees C-1.32 degrees C), 0.79 degrees C (-0.45 degrees C-2.04 degrees C), and 0.50 degrees C (-0.63 degrees C-1.62 degrees C), respectively. The GT, OT, and MPT values were within +/- 0.5 degrees C of RT for 65.9%, 19.5%, and 52.5% of dogs, respectively.