Search

Introduction Despite being widely used as a screening tool, a rigorous scientific evaluation of infrared thermography for the diagnosis of minimally symptomatic patients suspected of having COVID‐19 infection has not been performed. Methods A consecutive sample of 60 adult individuals with a history of close contact with COVID‐19 infected individuals and mild respiratory symptoms for less than 7 days and 20 confirmed COVID‐19 negative healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. Infrared thermograms of the face were obtained with a mobile camera, and RT‐PCR was used as the reference standard test to diagnose COVID‐19 infection. Temperature values and distribution of the face of healthy volunteers and patients with and without COVID‐19 infection were then compared. Results Thirty‐four patients had an RT‐PCR confirmed diagnosis of COVID‐19 and 26 had negative test results. The temperature asymmetry between the lacrimal caruncles and the forehead was significantly higher in COVID‐19 positive individuals. Through a random forest analysis, a cut‐off value of 0.55°C was found to discriminate with an 82% accuracy between patients with and without COVID‐19 confirmed infection. Conclusions Among adults with a history of COVID‐19 exposure and mild respiratory symptoms, a temperature asymmetry of ≥ 0.55°C between the lacrimal caruncle and the forehead is highly suggestive of COVID‐19 infection. This finding questions the widespread use of the measurement of absolute temperature values of the forehead as a COVID‐19 screening tool.

Bone repair after trauma or surgical intervention involves a tightly regulated cascade of events that starts with hemostasis and an inflammatory response, which are critical for successful healing. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are routinely prescribed for pain relief despite their potential inhibitory effect on bone repair. The goal of this study was to determine the impact of administration of the non-selective NSAID diclofenac in the inflammatory phase of bone repair in mice with or without lipopolysaccharide-induced systemic inflammation. Repair of femoral window defects was characterized using micro computed tomography imaging and histological analyses at 2 weeks postoperative. The data indicate (a) impaired bone regeneration associated with reduced osteoblast, osteoclast, and macrophage activity; (b) changes in the number, activity, and distribution of mast cells in regenerating bone; and (c) impaired angiogenesis due to a direct toxic effect of diclofenac on vascular endothelial cells. The results of this study provide strong evidence to support the conjecture that administration of NSAIDs in the first 2 weeks after orthopaedic surgery disrupts the healing cascade and exacerbates the negative effects of systemic inflammation on the repair process.