J Korean Pain Soc.  2001 Dec;14(2):164-170.

Evaluation of the Therapeutic Effects in Pain Management Using Infrared Thermal Imaging

• Kim MJ
• Lee SY
• Kim SH
• Kim JA
• Kang PS
• Woo NS
• Lee YC

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Infrared Thermal Imaging (ITI) is an effective tool for the diagnosis of disease and evaluation of the therapeutic effects following pain treatment. Patients who were treated for pain in pain clinic described the intensity of pain and the degree of change of their pain using a visual analogue scale (VAS). In this study, the usefulness of ITI following multimodal methods for pain management were compared with the change of VAS.
METHODS
1119 patients were evaluated. The patients were treated with stellate ganglion block, epidural block or trigger points injection. Before treatment, the temperature difference (deltaT) of the involved area and the corresponding area on the opposite side of the body was measured using ITI and VAS was assessed. After treatment, the temperature difference (deltaT) between the normal and involved areas, the change of deltaT (deltadT), VAS and the change of VAS (deltaVAS) were measured. Statistic correlations between deltadT and deltaVAS were calculated in all groups.
RESULTS
Correlation of the deltadT and deltaVAS was significant by contingency coefficient test. (SGB group, C = 0.358, Epi group, C = 0.377, TPI group, C = 0.374, P<0.05)
CONCLUSIONS
ITI is a reliable tool for the assessment of therapeutic effects following multidimensional management of painful disease.

Keyword

Epidural block; Infrared thermal imaging; Stellate ganglion block; Trigger

MeSH Terms

Diagnosis
Humans
Pain Clinics
Pain Management*
Stellate Ganglion
Trigger Points