Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine

Title abbreviation: Adv Clin Exp Med
JCR Impact Factor (IF) – 1.736
5-Year Impact Factor – 2.135
Index Copernicus  – 168.52
MEiN – 70 pts

ISSN 1899–5276 (print)
ISSN 2451-2680 (online)
Periodicity – monthly

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Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine

2019, vol. 28, nr 3, March, p. 361–367

doi: 10.17219/acem/87114

Publication type: original article

Language: English

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Could infrared thermal imaging be a new diagnostic tool for acute appendicitis?

Sinan Hatipoglu1,A,B,C,D,E,F, Ruslan Abdullayev2,D,F

1 Department of General Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Adıyaman University, Turkey

2 Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Adıyaman University Research and Educational Hospital, Turkey

Abstract

Background. Appendicitis is the most frequent acute abdominal disease and there are actual effective diagnostic tools for its detection.
Objectives. The objective of this study was to determine whether a thermal imaging camera is a useful tool for diagnosing acute appendicitis on the basis of abdominal skin surface temperature changes which reflect intra-abdominal inflammation.
Material and Methods. The prospective data consisting of surgical and pathological findings of 51 patients who had undergone appendectomy between January 2013 and December 2014 with the diagnosis of acute appendicitis was collected, as well as thermal imaging camera recordings. A handheld infrared (IR) thermal imaging camera (ITIC) was used to take measurements.
Results. Of the 51 patients studied, 30 were male and 21 were female. Of these, 12 had their highest temperature measurement in the epigastric and 17 in the umbilical areas. These 2 groups constituted 56.9% of the patients. Regarding the lowest temperature measurement, 10 patients had the lowest temperature in the right inguinal and 15 in the hypogastric area. These 2 numbers constituted 49% of the patients.
Conclusion. This is the first report concerning the use of a thermal camera as a diagnostic tool for the evaluation of acute abdominal illness. Considering the results of our study, ITIC is not feasible as a new diagnostic tool for acute appendicitis. It may be suitable for determining superficial inflammation; however, it is not suitable for determining deep inflammation.

Key words

acute appendicitis, diagnostic tool, thermal camera, infrared imaging, acute inflammation

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