Accuracy of infrared tympanic thermometry used in the diagnosis of Fever in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Accurate determination and detection of fever is essential in the appropriate treatment of pediatric population. It is widely known that improper definitions of fever can cause grave and dangerous consequences in medical procedures. Infrared tympanic thermometry seems a relatively new and popular alternative for traditional measurement in the diagnosis of pediatric fever. However, its accuracy in the diagnosis of fever remains a major concern.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data sources: Medline, Ovid, Elsevier, Google Scholar, and Cochrane library.

Study selection: Cross-sectional, prospective design.

Data extraction: Two investigators independently assessed selected studies and extracted data. Disagreements were resolved by discussion with other reviewers.

Results: A total of 25 articles were included in our meta-analysis. The summary estimates revealed that the pooled sensitivity was 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.68-0.72), pooled specificity was 0.86 (95% CI = 0.85-0.88), and pooled diagnostic odds ratio was 47.3 (95% CI = 29.76-75.18), for the diagnosis of fever using infrared tympanic thermometry. Additionally, the area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.94, and Q* value was 0.87.

Conclusion: A total of 25 articles that encompassing 31 studies were analyzed. Based on our meta-analysis, accuracy of infrared tympanic thermometry in diagnosing fever is high. We can cautiously make conclusion that infrared tympanic thermometry should be widely used as fever of thermometer.