Using Infrared Thermometers to Detect Fever
Author Information
Author(s): Hausfater Pierre, Zhao Yan, Defrenne Stéphanie, Bonnet Pascale, Riou Bruno
Primary Institution: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pitié-Salpêtrière
Hypothesis
Can cutaneous infrared thermometry accurately detect febrile patients in an emergency department?
Conclusion
Infrared thermometry is not reliable for detecting febrile patients due to low sensitivity and positive predictive value.
Supporting Evidence
- The negative predictive value of infrared thermometry was excellent at 0.99.
- The positive predictive value was low at 0.10.
- Correlation between cutaneous and tympanic measurements was poor.
- Older patients showed impaired temperature regulation.
- Infrared thermometry underestimated body temperature at low values and overestimated it at high values.
Takeaway
The study found that using infrared thermometers to check for fever isn't very good because it often misses people who are actually sick.
Methodology
The study assessed the accuracy of infrared thermometry by comparing it to tympanic temperature measurements in a large emergency department.
Potential Biases
Age and outdoor temperature were identified as confounding variables affecting temperature measurement accuracy.
Limitations
The study's findings may not apply to populations with a higher incidence of fever, and the role of gender in temperature measurement was unclear.
Participant Demographics
The study included 2026 patients, with 57% men and 43% women, aged 6 to 103 years.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Confidence Interval
95% CI 0.807–0.917
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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