ArticleMedicine2020
Infrared thermography in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal injuries: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in Medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical Use of Infrared Thermography: Where Are We and Where Are We Going.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Science of heat mapping: Thermography in musculoskeletal disorders.World journal of orthopedics · 2026Review
- Technologies to investigate the mechanisms of force-based manipulations: a narrative methods review.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Lumbar Temperature Map of Elderly Individuals with Chronic Low Back Pain-An Infrared Thermographic Analysis.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMusculoskeletal injuries (MSDs) have become a major public health problem worldwide. Current diagnosis techniques for MSDs are often associated with radiation exposure, expensive cost, or contraindication. Infrared thermography (IRT) is becoming a proposed tool to assist in diagnosing MSDs, but current evidence is inconclusive. Thus, herein we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of IRT for MSDs.
methodsWe will search EMBASE, MEDLINE, EBSCO, Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, Web of Science, CNKI, SinoMed, and Wangfang. Two researchers will independently screen eligible studies. Study quality will be evaluated based on the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool. Data synthesis will be completed using STATA 14.0 software. A bivariate random-effects analysis will be utilized to estimate the pooled estimation of the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and the summary receiver operating characteristics (SROC) curve. Subgroup analyses will be performed to determine heterogeneity sources.
resultsThis systematic review and meta-analysis will provide reliable evidence about the diagnostic accuracy of IRT for MSDs.
conclusionThe conclusion of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. ETHICS AND COMMUNICATION: Given that this is a systematic review of published research, patient consent and ethical approval are not relevant. The findings of this study will be disseminated through conference presentations and publication in peer-reviewed journals. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020184867.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.