Owen Ruaridh, Ramlakhan Shammi
Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Emergency Department, Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK.
BMJ Paediatr Open. 2017 Sep 18;1(1):e000080. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2017-000080. eCollection 2017.
Infrared thermography (IRT) has been used in adult medicine for decades, but recent improvements in quality of imaging and increasing computer processing power have allowed for a diversification of clinical applications. The specific usage of IRT in a paediatric population has not been widely explored, so this article aims to summarise the available literature in this area. IRT involves the non-contact, accurate measurement of skin surface temperature to identify temperature changes suggesting disease. IRT could well have unique applications in paediatric medicine.
Electronic searches were performed independently by two authors, using the databases of MEDLINE (via Web of Science), the Cochrane Library, CINAHL (EBSCO) and Scopus, including articles published from 1990 to July 2016. The search strategy that was used aimed to include articles that covered the topics of IRT and children, including studies with participants 18 years old or younger. Articles were screened by title and abstract by two authors. Meta-analysis was not performed due to the marked heterogeneity in applications, study design and outcomes: this is a narrative summary of the available literature.
IRT has been shown to be an effective additional diagnostic tool in a number of different paediatric specialties, namely in fracture screening, burns assessment and neonatal monitoring. Small measurable skin temperature changes can effectively add to the clinical picture, while computer-tracking systems can be reliably used to focus investigations on particular areas of the body.
Throughout this review of the available literature, there has been a general consensus that this non-invasive, non-irradiating and relatively inexpensive technology may well have a place in the management of paediatric patients in the future.
红外热成像（IRT）已在成人医学中应用数十年，但近期成像质量的提高和计算机处理能力的增强使得临床应用得以多样化。IRT在儿科人群中的具体应用尚未得到广泛探索，因此本文旨在总结该领域的现有文献。IRT涉及非接触式精确测量皮肤表面温度，以识别提示疾病的温度变化。IRT在儿科学中很可能有独特的应用。
两位作者独立进行电子检索，使用MEDLINE（通过Web of Science）、Cochrane图书馆、CINAHL（EBSCO）和Scopus数据库，检索1990年至2016年7月发表的文章。所采用的检索策略旨在纳入涵盖IRT和儿童主题的文章，包括参与者为18岁及以下的研究。两位作者通过标题和摘要对文章进行筛选。由于应用、研究设计和结果存在明显异质性，未进行荟萃分析：这是现有文献的叙述性总结。
IRT已被证明是多种不同儿科专科的有效辅助诊断工具，即在骨折筛查、烧伤评估和新生儿监测方面。微小的可测量皮肤温度变化可有效补充临床情况，而计算机跟踪系统可可靠地用于将检查重点放在身体的特定部位。
在对现有文献的全面综述中，人们普遍认为，这种非侵入性、无辐射且相对廉价的技术很可能在未来儿科患者的管理中占有一席之地。
