title: Correlation Between Wound Temperature Obtained With an Infrared Camera and Clinical Wound Bed Score in Venous Leg Ulcers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The measurement of skin and wound bed temperature in chronic wounds may be a useful way to optimize the assessment and diagnosis of chronic wound infection. The aim of this clinical research trial was to correlate the wound bed score, validated by Falanga in 2006, to wound bed and perilesional skin temperature with an easy-to-use, handheld, noninvasive thermometer.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, the authors recruited 18 patients affected by venous insufficiency and lower leg ulcers. A total of 24 chronic wound bed and perilesional skin ulcers were assessed using an infrared camera (FLIR T620 Thermal Imager, FLIR Systems Boston, MA). At the same visit, an operator blinded to the thermal image results made a wound bed score to make a clinical evaluation of the lesion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The wound bed temperature range after dressing removal was between 31°C and 35°C, and the perilesional skin temperature range was between 31°C and 34°C. The wound bed score range was between 5-14 (14 patients > 10; 11 patients ≤ 10). The study data showed an increasing relationship between the wound bed score and the wound bed temperature according to several studies that have demonstrated 33°C is the critical temperature level required for normal cellular activity. The correlation between the wound bed score and the perilesional skin temperature is weaker compared to other measurements.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results obtained in this preliminary research suggest that this correlation is worth being further investigated with a larger dataset.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Pisa, Italy;
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dini
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Italy;
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Salvo
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Pisa, Italy;
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Janowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Italy;
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Francesco
authors.affiliation: National Research Council of Italy, C.N.R.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barbini
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Pisa, Italy;
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romanelli
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D007259:Infrared Rays; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012881:Skin Temperature; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013817:Thermography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014647:Varicose Ulcer / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014945:Wound Healing; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000503:physiopathology*