Skin temperature as a clinical parameter for nursing care: a descriptive correlational study.

Objective: To identify the skin temperature in different body areas of hospitalised individuals in the surgical unit, without risk of developing a pressure ulcer (PU).

Methods: A descriptive, correlational and cross-sectional study, carried out May-October 2017, in a surgical unit of a university hospital in southern Brazil. Temperature was measured at the bony prominences including scapula, elbow, trochanters and heels, on both sides of the body, as well as occipital and sacral regions.