Three types of massive screening for body temperature during prevention and control of COVID-19

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To study three different large-scale body temperature screening methods during the prevention and control period of COVID-19, so as to select appropriate body temperature screening methods for medical institutions. METHODS: Body temperatures of 874 pre-diagnosed patients was screened by infrared thermography, frontal thermography (forehead measurement) and aural thermography. Each patient was measured once independently by three methods, and gender and body temperature were recorded. The screening effect of three methods on fever patients with different genders and at different environment temperatures were analyzed. RESULTS: The average body temperatures detected by thermal imager, ear thermometer and frontal thermometer were as the following ear thermometer> frontal thermometer > thermal imager. The coefficient of variation was frontal thermometer (1.359%) > ear thermometer(1.186%) > thermal imager (1.090%). The difference between the three methods was significant (P < 0.001). When ear thermometer and frontal thermometer were used to screen body temperature, the body temperature of male was higher than that of female, and the difference was significant (P<0.001). Among the three methods of temperature measurement, the average body temperature of group C (outdoor temperature 6-19 degrees C) was significantly higher than that of group A(outdoor temperature 1-6 degrees C) and group B (outdoor temperature 1-10 degrees C). The difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Ten suspected febrile patients were screened by thermal imager, but no suspected febrile patients were detected by frontal thermometer and ear thermometer, and the difference was significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The thermal imager has higher stability and accuracy and less affected by sex and outdoor temperature, and it should be used in large-scale body temperature screening for febrile patients.