O uso da termografia infravermelho na avaliação em condições musculo esqueléticas dolorosas : scoping review

Abstract

Introduction: Pain is a subjective and personal symptom indicating the existence of actual or potential damage in the body. The physiological processes involved in this symptom generate changes in skin temperature (Tsk) detected by Infrared Thermography (IRT). Evaluating painful processes through IRT has been a challenge for clinicians and researchers, so having an overview of the current literature and future study perspectives to improve the knowledge and applicability of this tool is important. Objectives: To review and document the ways and strategies in which IRT has been used to assess pain in its different contexts and pathologies. Methods: A scoping review was conducted from January 2022 to March 2023 using searches in the Medline/PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL databases. For this purpose, the terms "Musculoskeletal Pain" and "Infrared Thermography" along with their synonyms were used and combined with the Boolean operators "OR" and "AND." Three reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full texts. The main outcome analyzed was Tsk variations compared to other methods of musculoskeletal pain assessment. Results: The initial search found 5,236 studies, of which 5,195 were excluded, totaling 41 studies included in the review. Among the painful musculoskeletal conditions mentioned in the studies, four (9.7%) were neuropathic, four (9.7%) nociceptive, and 33 (80.5%) somesthetic. Regarding Tsk, studies reported both increases, decreases, or no relationship with the pain site. Among the studies that showed temperature increases, two (4.8%) were about neuropathic pain, 11 (26.8%) somesthetic pain, and one (2.4%) nociceptive pain. Temperature reduction in the painful region was reported in five (12.2%) somesthetic pain studies and one (2.4%) nociceptive pain study. Of the studies that did not show a relationship between Tsk and pain, 16 (39.0%) were somesthetic, two (4.8%) nociceptive, and one (2.4%) neuropathic. Conclusion: IRT may be a promising tool in pain analysis, but there was variation in the thermal abnormalities found in the studies, making the evidence inconclusive. There is a need for accuracy studies in this area to obtain more precise information about the applicability of IRT in pain assessment.