García-Mato Eliane, Varela-Aneiros Iván, Abeleira-Pazos Maite, Outumuro-Rial Mercedes, Diz-Dios Pedro, Limeres-Posse Jacobo, Diniz-Freitas Márcio
Special Needs Unit and OMEQUI Research Group, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela University, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
J Clin Med. 2022 Feb 13;11(4):976. doi: 10.3390/jcm11040976.
To date, the efficacy of temperature readings of children in the dental setting for COVID-19 screening has not been evaluated. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the usefulness of forehead temperature measurements in a dental clinic for COVID-19 screening in healthy children (without systemic disease) and in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Using an infrared thermometer, we recorded the forehead temperature of 200 pediatric patients (100 healthy children and 100 children with neurodevelopmental disorders). We performed temperature measurements "before", "during", and "after" the dental procedure. Oropharyngeal swabs were taken of all participants to detect SARS-CoV-2.
Sex, age, administration of local anesthesia, and use of rotary instrumentation did not affect the temperature values. In the children with neurodevelopmental disorders with a value of 1 on the Frankl behavior scale, the temperatures were significantly higher than in those with values of 2, 3, and 4 ( = 0.032, = 0.029, and = 0.03, respectively). The PCR for SARS-CoV-2 was positive for two patients (one healthy and the other with a neurodevelopmental disorder), whose "before" temperatures were 36.4 °C and 36.5 °C, respectively.
Forehead temperatures increase during dental procedures and are conditioned by the patient's behavior. An isolated temperature reading does not identify children infected by SARS-CoV-2.
迄今为止，尚未评估在牙科环境中测量儿童体温用于新冠病毒筛查的有效性。这项初步研究的目的是评估在牙科诊所测量健康儿童（无全身性疾病）和神经发育障碍儿童的额头温度对新冠病毒筛查的有用性。
我们使用红外温度计记录了200名儿科患者（100名健康儿童和100名神经发育障碍儿童）的额头温度。我们在牙科治疗“前”、“期间”和“后”进行了温度测量。对所有参与者采集口咽拭子以检测严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）。
性别、年龄、局部麻醉的使用和旋转器械的使用均未影响温度值。在弗兰克行为量表评分为1分的神经发育障碍儿童中，其体温显著高于评分为2分、3分和4分的儿童（分别为P = 0.032、P = 0.029和P = 0.03）。两名患者（一名健康，另一名患有神经发育障碍）的SARS-CoV-2聚合酶链反应（PCR）呈阳性，其“前”体温分别为36.4℃和36.5℃。
牙科治疗期间额头温度会升高，且受患者行为影响。单独的体温读数无法识别感染SARS-CoV-2的儿童。
