Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Novel Non-Invasive Point-Of-Care Tool to Assess Filarial Lymphoedema

Kelly-Hope, Louise ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3330-7629, Karim, Mohammad Jahirul, Sultan Mahmood, ASM Sultan, Al Kawsar, Abdullah Al, Khair, Abul, Betts, Hannah, Douglass, Janet, Forrer, Armelle and Taylor, Mark ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3396-9275 (2021) 'Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Novel Non-Invasive Point-Of-Care Tool to Assess Filarial Lymphoedema'. Journal of Clinical Medicine, Vol 10, Issue 11, p. 2301.

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Abstract

Lymphatic filariasis causes disfiguring and disabling lymphoedema, which is commonly and frequently exacerbated by acute dermatolymphangioadenitis (ADLA). Affected people require long‐term care and monitoring but health workers lack objective assessment tools. We examine the use of an infrared thermal imaging camera as a novel non‐invasive point‐of‐care tool for filarial lower‐limb lymphoedema in 153 affected adults from a highly endemic area of Bangladesh. Tem‐perature differences by lymphoedema stage (mild, moderate, severe) and ADLA history were vis‐ualised and quantified using descriptive statistics and regression models. Temperatures were found to increase by severity and captured subclinical differences between no lymphoedema and mild lymphoedema, and differences between moderate and severe stages. Toes and ankle temperatures detected significant differences between all stages other than between mild and moderate stages. Significantly higher temperatures, best captured by heel and calf measures, were found in partici‐pants with a history of ADLA, compared to participants who never had ADLA, regardless of the lymphoedema stage. This novel tool has great potential to be used by health workers to detect sub‐clinical cases, predict progression of disease and ADLA status, and monitor pathological tissue changes and stage severity following enhanced care packages or other interventions in people af‐fected by lymphoedema.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 680 Tropical diseases (General) WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 880 Filariasis and related conditions (General) WN Radiology. Diagnostic imaging > WN 180 Diagnostic imaging (General)
Faculty: Department:	Biological Sciences > Department of Tropical Disease Biology
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10112301
Depositing User:	Cathy Waldron
Date Deposited:	28 May 2021 08:27
Last Modified:	28 May 2021 08:27
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/17953

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