Clinical application of infrared thermography in the diagnosis of appendicitis

Abstract

To determine the clinical usefulness of infrared skin temperatures in diagnosing appendicitis, the authors conducted a prospective study of 86 adult and pediatric emergency department (ED) patients presenting during a 4-month study period with acute right lower abdominal pain. Skin temperature readings (FirstTemp digital thermometer, Intelligent Medical Systems, Inc, Carlsbad, CA) were taken from the right lower abdominal quadrant and a corresponding position on the left. An unpaired t test was used to determine if there was a significant difference between the right and left lower quadrants in patients with appendicitis. Discharged patients were followed up by telephone to determine any subsequent morbidity. A total of 23 patients had appendicitis confirmed by surgery; 63 subjects had other medical diagnoses. There was no significant skin temperature differential between the lower abdominal quadrants in either patient group (0.0 degree C vs 0.1 degree C; P > .5). Three patients had a skin temperature on the right that was at least 1 degrees C warmer than on the left; none of these patients had appendicitis. The results suggest that infrared thermography is not a sensitive diagnostic test for acute appendicitis in the ED population.