J Korean Acad Nurs.  2013 Dec;43(6):746-759. 10.4040/jkan.2013.43.6.746.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses of Diagnostic Accuracy of Infrared Thermometer when Identifying Fever in Children

• Park YJ
• Park SH
• Kang CB

• KMID: 1711266
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2013.43.6.746

Abstract

PURPOSE
Infrared thermometers are increasingly used as a convenient, non-invasive assessment method for febrile children. However, the diagnostic accuracy of the infrared thermometer for children has been questioned, particularly in relation to sensitivity and specificity. The aim of this study was to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of infrared thermometers in febrile children.
METHODS
Articles published between 1966 and 2012 from periodicals indexed in the Ovid Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, KoreaMed, NDSL, KERIS and other databases were selected, using the following keywords: 'infrared thermometer'. The QUADAS-II was applied to assess the internal validity of the diagnostic studies. Selected studies were analyzed using meta-analysis with MetaDisc 1.4.
RESULTS
Nineteen diagnostic studies with high methodological quality, involving 4,304 children, were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the pooled sensitivity, specificity and AUC (Area Under the Curve) of infrared tympanic thermometers in children over 1 year were 0.80 (95% CI 0.78, 0.81), 0.94 (95% CI 0.93, 0.95) and 0.95 respectively. However the diagnostic accuracy of infrared tympanic thermometers in children with hyperthermia was low.
CONCLUSION
The diagnostic accuracy of infrared tympanic thermometer was similar to axillary and rectal thermometers indicating a need for further research to substantiate these findings in children with hyperthermia.

Keyword

Thermometer; Sensitivity; Specificity; Meta-analysis; Child

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Area Under Curve
Body Temperature
Child
Child, Preschool
Databases, Factual
Fever/*diagnosis
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infrared Rays
Odds Ratio
ROC Curve
Sensitivity and Specificity
Thermometers/*standards