Vital signs

Skin Temperature Gradient

For education. Check every result.

Anatium is a study resource, not medical advice. Nothing here is a diagnosis, a prescription or a substitute for a clinician who has seen the patient. Check every number against a current local protocol before it touches anyone, and never act on a result you cannot reproduce yourself.

Reference range

Range0 to 4 °C

About

Where the limb turns from warm to cool. A gradient moving up the limb indicates worsening peripheral perfusion and costs nothing to check.

When it is low

Cool peripheries with warm core normal. Gradient <3°C suggests good perfusion

When it is high

Gradient >7°C: Poor peripheral perfusion, vasoconstriction, shock

How it is measured

Core-peripheral temp difference. Feel knee/toe vs abdomen. Useful in sepsis monitoring.

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