CAI Si 1 , MEN Xinlu 1 , WANG Shan 1 , WANG Ji 2 , ZOU Yi 1 , FENG Chenchen 1 , HE Qian 1 , JIA Dan 1 , HU Xiaokun 1 , ZENG Zhongyi 1 , GUO Yuan 1 , YANG Ling 1 , YANG Xiaorong 1 , GOU Yue 1 , XUE Miao 3 , SHI Xuedan 1 , ZHAO Shuzhen 1 , HE Xiaoli 1
  • 1. Outpatient Department, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P. R China;
  • 2. West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P. R China;
  • 3. Tuberculosis Ward, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P. R China;
ZHAO Shuzhen, Email: ssszszzsz@126.com; HE Xiaoli, Email: hxl2374897638@qq.com
Non-contact electronic temperature gun; Mercury thermometer; Coronavirus disease 2019; Body temperature; Fast accuracy
10.7507/1002-0179.202002326
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Objective To study the method of rapid and accurate measurement of body temperature in dense population during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.Methods From January 27th to February 8th, 2020, subjects were respectively measured with two kinds of non-contact infrared thermometers (blue thermometer and red one) to measure the temperature of forehead, neck, and inner side of forearm under the conditions of 4–6℃ (n=152), 7–10℃ (n=103), and 11–25℃ (n=209), while the temperature of axillary was measured with mercury thermometer under the same conditions. Taking the mercury thermometer temperature as the gold standard, the measurement results with non-contact infrared thermometers were compared.Results At 7–10℃, there was no statistical difference among the forehead temperatures measured by the two non-contact infrared thermometers and the axillary temperature (P>0.05); there was no difference among the temperature measured by blue thermometer on forehead, neck, and inner side of forearm (P>0.05); no difference was found between the temperature measured by the red thermometer on forehead and inner side of forearm (P>0.05), while there was statistical difference between the temperatures measured by the red thermometer on forehead and neck (P<0.05). Under the environment of 11−25℃, there was no statistical difference among the forehead temperatures measured by the two infrared thermometers and the axillary temperature (P>0.05); the difference between the temperatures of forehead and inner side of forearm measured by the blue thermometer was statistically significant (P<0.05), while no difference appeared between the forehead and neck temperatures measured by the blue thermometer (P>0.05); there was no statistical difference among the temperatures of three body regions mentioned above measured by the red thermometer (P>0.05). According to the manual, the allowable fluctuation range of the blue thermometer was 0.3℃, and that of the red one was 0.2℃. The mean differences in measured values between different measured sites of the two products were within the allowable fluctuation range. Therefore, the differences had no clinical significance in the environment of 7–25℃. Under the environment of 4–6℃, the detection rate of blue thermometer was 2.2% and that of the red one was 19.1%.Conclusions There is no clinical difference between the temperature measured by mercury thermometer and the temperature measured by temperature guns at 7–10 or 11–25℃, so temperature guns can be widely used. In order to maintain the maximum distance between the measuring and the measured persons and reduce the infection risk, it is recommended to choose the inner forearm for temperature measurement. Under the environment of ambient temperature 4–6℃, the detection rate of non-contact electronic temperature gun is low, requiring taking thermal measures for the instrument.

Citation： CAI Si, MEN Xinlu, WANG Shan, WANG Ji, ZOU Yi, FENG Chenchen, HE Qian, JIA Dan, HU Xiaokun, ZENG Zhongyi, GUO Yuan, YANG Ling, YANG Xiaorong, GOU Yue, XUE Miao, SHI Xuedan, ZHAO Shuzhen, HE Xiaoli. Rapid and accurate measurement of body temperature in dense population during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. West China Medical Journal, 2020, 35(4): 385-390. doi: 10.7507/1002-0179.202002326 Copy

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