Authors
Akira Yokoyama, Koh Okamoto, Kiyora Yamashita, Akihisa Mitani, Sohei Harada, Taro Ishimori, Hirokazu Urushiyama, Goh Tanaka, Daisuke Jubishi, Hideki Hashimoto, Kiyoshi Miyagawa, Takeya Tsutsumi, Kyoji Moriya, Hidenori Kage, Takahide Nagase
Published in
Antimicrobial resistance and infection control. Volume 15. Issue 1. Jul 27, 2026. Epub Jul 27, 2026.
Abstract
To evaluate the clinical utility of a multi-step fever screening program using infrared thermography (IRT) for visitors to outpatient clinics at a tertiary care hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We conducted a single-center, retrospective study at The University of Tokyo Hospital between January and December 2022, when the Omicron variant was predominant. Outpatient visitors underwent a three-step screening at the main entrance, including IRT, axillary temperature measurement, and physician's evaluation. Outcomes included the number of COVID-19 cases detected, the positive predictive value (PPV) of IRT, and its association with ambient air temperature.
Of 570,076 asymptomatic visitors screened by IRT, 3900 (0.7%) had a body temperature ≥ 37.0 °C; among them, 483 (12.4%) had axillary temperatures ≥ 37.0 °C. In total, 115 visitors (0.02%) were evaluated by physicians, and 55 underwent PCR testing, of whom 2 tested positive. The PPV of IRT was 12.4% and showed a strong correlation with ambient temperature (r = 0.93).
The overall yield of IRT-based fever screening at a tertiary hospital was minimal, with only 1 COVID-19 case detected per approximately 285,000 (2/570,076). Our findings highlight the limited clinical utility of fever-based screening and emphasize the importance of carefully considering disease characteristics, environmental factors, and resource allocation in future pandemic preparedness.
PMID:
42920158
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Oct 2026.
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