title: Interexaminer reliability of infrared thermography for the diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Infrared thermography (IRT) is a useful tool for assessing skin temperature abnormalities in patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Although determining regions of interest (ROIs) is an essential process for interpreting thermographic images, there are no validated and standardized guidelines to determine ROIs. Therefore, ROIs may be determined differently by each observer even for the same IRT images, which can result in an important issue for IRT reliability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interexaminer reliability of IRT in patients with CRPS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Infrared thermographic images of 28 patients diagnosed with CRPS were reviewed by three independent examiners. The shapes, sizes, and the detailed locations of the ROIs were determined by the investigator's own opinion based on patient history and symptoms. After maximal skin temperature of the ROI was obtained for each patient, the degree of agreement among the three examiners limbs was assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The intraclass correlation coefficient among the three independent raters was 0.865 (95% confidence interval, 0.748-0.933), indicating a high degree of reliability (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The reliability of IRT for assessing skin temperature abnormalities in CRPS was high when the ROIs were determined based on patient history and symptoms.
authors: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
authors: Eunjoo
authors: E
authors: Choi
authors: Pyung-Bok
authors: PB
authors: Lee
authors: Francis Sahngun
authors: FS
authors: Nahm
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D020918:Complex Regional Pain Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D007259:Infrared Rays; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012867:Skin / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012881:Skin Temperature; D013817:Thermography / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult