Division of Nephrology, School of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo 04023-062, SP, Brazil.
Division of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo 04023-062, SP, Brazil.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Sep 30;20(19):6867. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20196867.
(1) Infrared thermography of the inner canthus of the eye has emerged as a promising tool for temperature screening and fever diagnosis. Its non-invasive nature lends itself well to mass screening in diverse settings such as schools, public transport, and healthcare facilities. Swift and accurate temperature assessment plays a pivotal role in the early identification of potential fever cases, facilitating timely isolation, testing, and treatment, thereby mitigating the risk of disease transmission. Nonetheless, the reliability of this approach in the pediatric population, especially when compared to conventional thermometry methods, remains unexplored. This preliminary study aimed to evaluate the concordance between the temperature of the inner canthus of the eye (T), referred to as the brain-eyelid thermal tunnel (BTT°), with axillary and tympanic methods in afebrile children. (2) Methods: A cohort of 36 children, matched in a 1:1 ratio for gender and age, underwent comprehensive assessments encompassing anthropometric data, blood pressure evaluations, axillary (T) and tympanic (T) temperature measurements, as well as BTT° infrared thermography. (3) Results: The findings revealed a high level of concordance among the tympanic, axillary, and BTT° measurement methods. Bland-Altman plots showed that the bias was minimal, and no statistically significant differences were observed when comparing BTT° with axillary ( = 0.136) and tympanic ( = 0.268) measurements. Passing-Bablok regression scatter plots further confirmed the agreement, aligning the fitted regression line closely with the identity line for both axillary versus BTT° and tympanic (T) versus BTT° comparisons. (4) Conclusions: This study holds significant implications for public health, especially in the context of infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19. BTT° infrared thermography of the inner canthus of the eye (T) reliably measures body temperature in afebrile children in controlled settings; nevertheless, its practical application necessitates the adaptation of biothermodynamic parameters to accommodate diverse environmental conditions.
（1）眼内角的红外热成像已成为一种有前途的体温筛查和发热诊断工具。其非侵入性的特点使其非常适合在学校、公共交通和医疗机构等各种环境中进行大规模筛查。快速准确的体温评估在早期识别潜在发热病例中起着至关重要的作用，有助于及时隔离、检测和治疗，从而降低疾病传播的风险。然而，这种方法在儿科人群中的可靠性，特别是与传统的测温方法相比，仍有待探索。本初步研究旨在评估眼内角温度（T），即脑-眼睑热隧道（BTT°）与腋窝和鼓膜方法在无热儿童中的一致性。
（2）方法：一项 36 名儿童的队列研究，按性别和年龄 1:1 匹配，进行了全面评估，包括人体测量数据、血压评估、腋窝（T）和鼓膜（T）温度测量以及 BTT°红外热成像。
（3）结果：研究结果表明，鼓膜、腋窝和 BTT°测量方法之间具有高度的一致性。Bland-Altman 图显示偏差最小，当比较 BTT°与腋窝（ = 0.136）和鼓膜（ = 0.268）测量值时，没有观察到统计学差异。通过 Bablok 回归散点图进一步证实了这种一致性，为腋窝与 BTT°和鼓膜（T）与 BTT°比较，拟合回归线与身份线紧密对齐。
（4）结论：这项研究对公共卫生具有重要意义，特别是在 COVID-19 等传染病爆发的情况下。眼内角的 BTT°红外热成像在受控环境中可靠地测量无热儿童的体温；然而，其实际应用需要适应生物热力学参数以适应不同的环境条件。
