A retrospective study of the effect of ultrasound-guided glucocorticoid injection on different pathologies of the shoulder

Abstract

Objective To analyze the effect of ultrasound-guided glucocorticoid injection on different pathologies of the shoulder retrospectively. Methods Clinical data were collected describing 75 patients with shoulder pain who received ultrasound-guided glucocorticoid injection and finished 3 month follow-ups in the rehabilitation clinic of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University between April and September of 2017. The patients were divided into three groups based on their different injection sites: group 1 was injected at the subacromial bursa alone, group 2 was injected at both the subacromial bursa and the coracoid bursa, while group 3 was injected at the subacromial bursa and the long head of the tendon sheath of the biceps brachii. A shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI) was used to quantify the pain and disability of each patient before and after the injection. Results Significant improvement was observed in the average pain and disability scores of all groups at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after the injection. Moreover, significant and continuous improvement was observed in the average pain and disability scores of groups 1 and 3, as well as the average disability score of group 2 from right after the injection until the last follow-up. However, no significant differences were found in the average pain score between one and three months after the injection. There was no significant difference among the 3 groups in the average pain and disability scores before and immediately after the injection. Conclusion Ultrasound-guided glucocorticoid injection is effective and persistent for treating shoulder pain with different pathologies. Key words: Shoulder pain; Ultrasound; Glucocorticoids