Evaluation of body temperature in individuals with stroke

BACKGROUND: A stroke can cause alterations in thermal sensitivity. OBJECTIVE: to verify the conditions of body temperature in hemiplegic patients after stroke as compared to healthy individuals, as well as establish relations between thermal sensitivity and gender, age, Body Mass Index (BMI), plegic side, time after stroke, reports of thermal alterations and the motricity of patients with stroke sequelae. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 100 patients (55.6±13 years) with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke sequelae with unilateral hemiparesis and thirty healthy subjects (55±12.9 years). Individuals with nervous peripheral lesions, diabetes, peripheral vascular diseases or tumors were not included in this study. The volunteers underwent axillary temperature evaluations with the use of a cutaneous thermometer and evaluations of cutaneous temperature of hands and feet as measured by infrared thermography captured by an infrared sensor (ThermaCAMTM SC 500-FLIR Systems). The mean temperature (°C) was analyzed with the SigmaStat 3.5 statistical package. RESULTS: The results have shown that healthy individuals have similar temperatures on either side of the body. The hemiplegic subjects presented a lower temperature on the plegic side and compared to the healthy subjects, both feet of the hemiparetic individuals were colder. The results have also shown that age, body mass index, and the time after stroke have no influence on the alterations in temperature. Regarding the paretic side, individuals with hemiplegia on the right side (right foot) had a lower temperature than those affected on the left side. Motricity was not related to any difference in temperature between the limbs and the reports of temperature differences had no relation with the actual differences found in the study. CONCLUSIONS: Healthy individuals have temperature symmetry between between sides of the body, while individuals with stroke sequelae present lower temperature in the paretic side, especially on their feet.