Current Use of Infrared Thermography in Orthopaedic and Bone or Joint Trauma Patients-Can We Identify Postoperative Infection? A Narrative Systematic Review.

IF 1 Q3 ORTHOPEDICS

Strategies in Trauma and Limb Reconstruction Pub Date : 2024-09-01 Epub Date: 2025-03-20 DOI:10.5005/jp-journals-10080-1630

Arun T Watts, Anne Mp Boyle, Vladislav Kutuzov, Christian Warner, Tim Staniland, Gavin Barlow, Hemant Sharma

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Abstract

Aim and background: Technological advances have made infrared thermography (IRT) sensitive, noncontact, and low cost for medical applications and it is used in a range of fields. A widening body of research has investigated IRT in the orthopaedic setting, including the investigation of orthopaedic infection. Infrared thermography could provide a rapid, low-cost, objective, noncontact technique to aid in the diagnosis of orthopaedic infections.

Methods: Electronic searches of MEDLINE, CINAHL, and EMBASE from 2000 to 2024 were made. The search strategy aimed to include all studies in adults investigating the use of IRT in orthopaedic and bone or joint trauma patients and those studies which provide baseline values, including in patients with infection. Articles were screened by title and abstract by two authors. Bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale tool. Studies were heterogeneous; therefore, results were summarised in tables and presented as a narrative synthesis.

Results: The search identified 36 studies. Studies have shown that IRT is useful in fracture or soft tissue diagnosis, detecting periprosthetic infection, and it may have a role in screening healthy subjects. There is still considerable variance in the application of IRT in the trauma and orthopaedic setting.

Conclusion: Infrared thermography is sensitive to skin temperature changes in infected limbs following orthopaedic surgery and may be used as a low-cost, noncontact, irradiation-free screening tool to identify orthopaedic infection in the future. Future studies should identify the cost effectiveness of IRT in clinical practice. Barriers include the low incidence of orthopaedic infection and large number of confounders that can affect IRT readings.

Clinical significance: Infrared thermography can provide rapid information that may be a useful adjunct in the emergency department or outpatient clinics to diagnose a range of orthopaedic conditions, including infection. Current research has yet to demonstrate clinical significance.

How to cite this article: Watts AT, Boyle AMP, Kutuzov V, et al. Current Use of Infrared Thermography in Orthopaedic and Bone or Joint Trauma Patients-Can We Identify Postoperative Infection? A Narrative Systematic Review. Strategies Trauma Limb Reconstr 2024;19(3):141-148.

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红外热成像在骨科和骨或关节创伤患者中的应用——我们能识别术后感染吗？叙述系统评论。

目的与背景：随着技术的进步，红外热成像技术（IRT）具有灵敏度高、非接触性强、成本低等特点，在医疗领域得到了广泛应用。越来越多的研究机构调查了骨科环境中的IRT，包括骨科感染的调查。红外热成像技术可以提供一种快速、低成本、客观、非接触的技术来帮助骨科感染的诊断。方法：对2000 ~ 2024年的MEDLINE、CINAHL、EMBASE数据库进行电子检索。检索策略旨在纳入所有调查在骨科和骨或关节创伤患者中使用IRT的成人研究以及提供基线值的研究，包括感染患者。文章由两位作者按标题和摘要进行筛选。使用纽卡斯尔-渥太华量表工具评估偏倚。研究是异质的；因此，结果总结在表格中，并作为叙述综合提出。结果：搜索确定了36项研究。研究表明，IRT可用于骨折或软组织诊断，检测假体周围感染，并可能在筛查健康受试者中发挥作用。IRT在创伤和骨科的应用仍有相当大的差异。结论：红外热像仪对骨科术后感染肢体皮肤温度变化敏感，可作为一种低成本、非接触、无辐射的骨科感染筛查工具。未来的研究应该确定IRT在临床实践中的成本效益。障碍包括骨科感染的低发生率和大量影响IRT读数的混杂因素。临床意义：红外热成像可以提供快速的信息，可能是一个有用的辅助手段，在急诊科或门诊诊断一系列骨科疾病，包括感染。目前的研究尚未证明其临床意义。如何引用本文：Watts AT， Boyle AMP， Kutuzov V等人。红外热成像在骨科和骨或关节创伤患者中的应用——我们能识别术后感染吗？叙述系统评论。创伤肢体重建[j]; 2009;19(3):141-148。

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来源期刊

Strategies in Trauma and Limb Reconstruction Medicine-Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

CiteScore

1.50

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Strategies in Trauma and Limb Reconstruction is dedicated to surgeons, allied medical professionals and researchers in the field of orthopaedics and trauma. The scope of the journal is to discuss the fields of skeletal injury, and the complications thereof, congenital and acquired limb deformities and deficiencies, and orthopaedic-related infection, together with their surgical and non-surgical treatments. The journal publishes original articles, reviews, case reports, descriptions of new or recognised treatment techniques, forum discussions of clinical scenarios and relevant correspondence. It aims to provide a widely accessible source of useful information to practitioners in the field through the problem- or technique-based approach of published articles.