Marwah Salih, Sarah Salih, Benedict R H Turner, Sarah Onida, Alun H Davies
{"title":"Thermal imaging as a diagnostic tool for superficial venous insufficiency - a systematic review.","authors":"Marwah Salih, Sarah Salih, Benedict R H Turner, Sarah Onida, Alun H Davies","doi":"10.1177/02683555241301194","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Evaluation of the literature assessing the use of thermography, a non-invasive imaging modality that detects pathological temperature variation, in recognising superficial venous insufficiency (SVI).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Articles were screened by two individuals and data was subsequently extracted. Methodological quality was assessed with Cochrane's risk of bias tool.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Four studies comprising 363 patients were included. Three studies identified increased temperature uptake in veins with incompetent valves on venous duplex (<i>p</i> < .05). One study reported sensitivity and specificity of thermal imaging in SVI as 98.30% (95% CI, 95.2%-99.4%) and 100% (95% CI 85.7%-100%) respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Thermal imaging could act as a screening tool in SVI. This review highlights a lack of high-quality prospective studies evaluating the role of thermal imaging as a diagnostic tool that could expedite the assessment of patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":94350,"journal":{"name":"Phlebology","volume":" ","pages":"2683555241301194"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Phlebology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02683555241301194","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: Evaluation of the literature assessing the use of thermography, a non-invasive imaging modality that detects pathological temperature variation, in recognising superficial venous insufficiency (SVI).
Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Articles were screened by two individuals and data was subsequently extracted. Methodological quality was assessed with Cochrane's risk of bias tool.
Results: Four studies comprising 363 patients were included. Three studies identified increased temperature uptake in veins with incompetent valves on venous duplex (p < .05). One study reported sensitivity and specificity of thermal imaging in SVI as 98.30% (95% CI, 95.2%-99.4%) and 100% (95% CI 85.7%-100%) respectively.
Conclusion: Thermal imaging could act as a screening tool in SVI. This review highlights a lack of high-quality prospective studies evaluating the role of thermal imaging as a diagnostic tool that could expedite the assessment of patients.