Ultrasound-guided Glenohumeral Injections Research Articles

Ultrasound-Guided Glenohumeral Corticosteroid Injection for the Treatment of Adhesive Capsulitis of the Shoulder: The Role of Clinical Stage in Response to Treatment.

Treatment for idiopathic adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder remains controversial. Stages 1 to 2 reflect an inflammatory process supporting a rationale for intra-articular glenohumeral joint corticosteroid injection to treat synovial inflammation and prevent progression to capsular fibrosis. We hypothesize that an intra-articular ultrasound-guided glenohumeral injection (USGI) of corticosteroid in patients diagnosed with Stage 1 or 2 idiopathic adhesive capsulitis will result in timely functional recovery and resolution of pain and stiffness. Case series. Level 4. Patients with Stage 1 or 2 idiopathic adhesive capsulitis treated with an intra-articular corticosteroid injection were included. Patients were seen by a single physician and diagnosed using history and physical examination with careful attention to measurement of glenohumeral range of motion (ROM). A total of 61 patients met inclusion criteria. ROM measurements documented in the patient charts were recorded in forward flexion, abduction, internal rotation, and external rotation in neutral abduction. All ROM measurements were performed pre- and postinjection. All patients were treated with an USGI of local anesthetic and depomedrol. Recovery criteria were defined as forward flexion, abduction, and external rotation within 15° of the contralateral side and internal rotation within 3 spinous process levels of the contralateral side. A total of 11 patients with Stage 1 and 50 patients with Stage 2 adhesive capsulitis comprised the final study cohort. Within the Stage 1 cohort, all 11 patients met recovery criteria for forward flexion and internal rotation (100%), 10 met recovery criteria for abduction (91%), and 8 met recovery criteria for external rotation (73%). Within the Stage 2 cohort, 31 patients met recovery criteria for forward flexion (62%), 30 met recovery criteria for abduction (60%), 36 met recovery criteria for internal rotation (72%), and 25 met recovery criteria for external rotation (50%). The difference in time to recovery in days was statistically significant in all ROM planes and was within 2 to 6 weeks for patients in Stage 1 and 7 to 10 weeks for Stage 2. USGI for early adhesive capsulitis allows patients to recover ROM more rapidly if performed early after onset of pain and stiffness. These results stress the importance of recognition of idiopathic adhesive capsulitis in its early stages and subsequent intervention with an intra-articular glenohumeral corticosteroid injection.

Paper 89: Ultrasound-guided Glenohumeral Corticosteroid Injection for the Treatment of Adhesive Capsulitis of the Shoulder: The Role of Clinical Stage in Response to Treatment

Objectives:The treatment for idiopathic adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder remains controversial. The pathophysiology of adhesive capsulitis supports the rationale for intra-articular glenohumeral joint corticosteroid injection to treat the synovial inflammation in stages 1 and 2, that results in capsular fibrosis in the later stages of adhesive capsulitis. We hypothesize that an intra-articular ultrasound-guided glenohumeral injection (USGI) of corticosteroid in patients diagnosed with stage 1 or stage 2 idiopathic adhesive capsulitis will result in timely functional recovery and resolution of pain and stiffness.Methods:This is a retrospective analysis of a cohort of patients with stage 1 or stage 2 idiopathic adhesive capsulitis, diagnosed using history and physical examination. A total of 61 patients met inclusion criteria. Range of motion (ROM) measurements documented in the patient charts were recorded in four planes: forward flexion, abduction, internal rotation, and external rotation in neutral abduction. All ROM measurements were performed pre-injection and at all subsequent post-injection visits by a single treating physician. All patients were treated with an ultrasound-guided intra-articular injection of local anesthetic and depomedrol. Recovery criteria were defined as forward flexion, abduction, and external rotation to within 15 degrees of the contralateral side and internal rotation to within three spinous process levels of the contralateral side.Results:A total of 11 patients with Stage 1 and 50 patients with Stage 2 adhesive capsulitis comprised the study cohort. The mean age was 55 years (SD=8, range: 38 to 72) and 49 (80%) patients were female. Within the stage 1 cohort, all 11 patients met recovery criteria for forward flexion (100%), 10 patients met recovery criteria for abduction (91%), 11 patients met recovery criteria for internal rotation (100%), and 8 patients met recovery criteria for external rotation (73%). Within the stage 2 cohort, 31 patients met recovery criteria for forward flexion (62%), 30 patients met recovery criteria for abduction (60%), 36 patients met recovery criteria for internal rotation (72%), and 24 patients met recovery criteria for external rotation (48%). Time to recovery in days for each ROM compared between the stage 1 and stage 2 cohorts was statistically significant in all ROM planes (forward flexion (p<0.0001), abduction (p<0.0001), internal rotation (p=0.0008), and external rotation (p=0.0096)), indicating a greater proportion of stage 1 patients had a shorter time to recovery after injection. Figures 1-4 depict cumulative survival functions between Stage 1 and Stage 2 patients for each individual ROM measurement.Conclusions:USGI for early adhesive capsulitis allows patients to recover ROM more rapidly. Importantly, Stage 1 patients recovered faster than Stage 2 patients in all ROM planes, with only forward flexion reaching statistical significance. This suggests that prompt recognition of early idiopathic adhesive capsulitis and subsequent USGI with corticosteroid and local anesthetic plays an important role in timely recovery of motion and symptom resolution thus shortening the natural history of this disease and preventing the development of significant fibrosis.Figure 1.Cumulative survival functions between Stage 1 and Stage 2 patients for Forward FlexionFigure 2.Cumulative survival functions between Stage 1 and Stage 2 patients for AbductionFigure 3.Cumulative survival functions between Stage 1 and Stage 2 patients for Internal RotationFigure 4.Cumulative survival functions between Stage 1 and Stage 2 patients for External Rotation

A Randomized Comparative Study of Blind versus Ultrasound Guided Glenohumeral Joint Injection of Corticosteroids for Treatment of Shoulder Stiffness

Background: We prospectively compared the response to blind and ultrasound-guided glenohumeral injection of corticosteroids for treatment of shoulder stiffness. Methods: A total of 77 patients with shoulder stiffness between April 2008 and March 2012 were recruited. Patients were randomized to receive either a blind (group 1, n=39) or ultrasound-guided (group 2, n=38) glenohumeral injection of 40 mg triamcinolone. The clinical outcomes and shoulder range of motion (ROM) before injection, at 3, 6, and 12 months after injection and at the last follow-up were assessed. The same rehabilitation program was applied in both groups during the follow-up period. Results: There was no significant difference in demographic data on age, sex, ROM, and symptom duration before injection between groups (p>0.05). There were no significant differences in ROM including forward flexion, external rotation at the side, external rotation at 90o abduction, and internal rotation, visual analogue scale for pain and functional outcomes including American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, Simple Shoulder test between the two groups at any time point (p>0.05). Conclusions: Based on the current data, the result of ultrasound-guided glenohumeral injection was not superior to that of blind injection in the treatment of shoulder stiffness. We suggest that ultrasound-guided glenohumeral injection could be performed according to the patient’s compliance and the surgeon’s preference. Once familiar with the non-imaging?guided glenohumeral injection, it is an efficient and reliable method for the experienced surgeon. Ultrasound could be performed according to the surgeon’s preference.