Comparison of tympanic, axillary, and inner canthus of the eye methods for the determination of body temperature in afebrile children: A preliminary study using thermal infrared imaging

Evaluation of body temperature by infrared thermography of the inner canthus of the eye has been proposed as an important tool for temperature screening and fever diagnosis. Currently, no study has been performed in the pediatric population to investigate the reliability of this tool compared to the traditional methods for thermometry. The aim was to determine the concordance of the temperature of the inner canthus in the eye (TCE) with axillary and tympanic methods in afebrile children. This study included 36 children who were matched 1:1 for sex and age. Anthropometric data, blood pressure levels, axillary and tympanic thermometry, and TCE were evaluated using infrared thermography. Results were analyzed using Lin's concordance correlation coefficient, Passing–Bablok regression analysis, and the Bland–Altman method. Results revealed good concordance between the tympanic, axillary, and TCE methods. The Bland–Altman plots revealed that the bias was close to zero and not statistically significant for the comparison of TCE with the axillary (P=0.136) and tympanic (P=0.268) methods. No proportional bias was evident in the Bland–Altman plots. Passing-Bablok regression scatter plots also indicated an agreement between the fitted regression line and the identity line of the axillary with TCE and between tympanic and TCE. In conclusion, infrared thermography of the inner canthus of the eye provides an accurate measurement of body temperature in afebrile children. Further studies should be performed to confirm and expand the current findings.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES