Body temperature measurements in pigs during general anaesthesia

The aim was to compare rectal, pharyngeal and oesophageal temperature measurements in anaesthetized pigs. Data were compared using the Bland-Altman method, and correlation coefficients and error measures were calculated. Sixty-six sets of data were collected from 16 pigs weighing 16.2 +/- 4.2 kg. The bias (and 95% limit of agreement) for rectal and pharyngeal compared with oesophageal temperature were 0.69 (-1.18 to 2.57) degrees C and 0.22 (-0.84 to 1.28) degrees C, respectively. The correlation coefficients for rectal and pharyngeal compared with oesophageal temperature were 0.47 and 0.87, respectively. The absolute error for rectal and pharyngeal compared with oesophageal temperature was 0.7 +/- 0.9 degrees C and 0.2 +/- 0.5 degrees C, respectively. Pharyngeal temperature measurement may be more suitable than rectal temperature measurement for estimation of oesophageal temperature during general anaesthesia of pigs.