Section of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Department of Surgery, Dentistry, Paediatrics and Gynaecology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Diagnosis (Berl). 2021 Sep 2;9(2):195-198. doi: 10.1515/dx-2021-0091.
With the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continuing worldwide, mass screening of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is a cornerstone of strategies for limiting viral spread within communities. Although mass screening of body temperature with handheld, non-contact infrared thermometers and thermal imagine scanners is now widespread in a kaleidoscope of social and healthcare settings for the purpose of detecting febrile individuals bearing SARS-CoV-2 infection, this strategy carries some drawbacks, which will be highlighted and discussed in this article. These caveats basically include high rate of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections, the challenging definition of "normal" body temperature, variation of measured values according to the body district, false negative cases due to antipyretics, device inaccuracy, impact of environmental temperature, along with the low specificity of this symptom for screening COVID-19 in patients with other febrile conditions. Some pragmatic suggestions will also be endorsed for increasing accuracy and precision of mass screening of body temperature. These encompass the regular assessment of body temperature (possibly twice) with validated devices, which shall be constantly monitored over time and used following manufacturer's instructions, the definition of a range of "normal" body temperatures in the local population, patients interrogation on usual body temperature, measurement standardization of one body district, allowance of sufficient environmental acclimatization before temperature check, integration with contact history and other clinical information, along with exclusion of other causes of increased body temperature. We also endorse the importance of individual and primary care physician's regular and repeated check of personal body temperature.
随着 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行在全球范围内持续，对严重急性呼吸窘迫综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）感染进行大规模筛查是限制社区内病毒传播策略的基石。虽然手持式非接触式红外体温计和热成像扫描仪的体温大规模筛查现在已广泛应用于社会和医疗保健领域的各种环境中，目的是检测携带 SARS-CoV-2 感染的发热个体，但这种策略存在一些缺点，本文将对此进行强调和讨论。这些注意事项主要包括无症状 SARS-CoV-2 感染率高、“正常”体温的定义具有挑战性、根据身体部位测量值的变化、由于退热剂导致的假阴性病例、设备不准确、环境温度的影响以及该症状对筛查其他发热情况下 COVID-19 的特异性低。还将提出一些实用建议来提高体温大规模筛查的准确性和精密度。这些建议包括使用经过验证的设备定期（可能两次）评估体温，这些设备应随着时间的推移进行持续监测并按照制造商的说明使用，在当地人群中定义“正常”体温范围，询问患者通常的体温，对一个身体部位的测量标准化，在体温检查前允许有足够的环境适应，与接触史和其他临床信息相结合，以及排除其他导致体温升高的原因。我们还强调个人和初级保健医生定期和反复检查个人体温的重要性。
