title: Point-of-care ultrasound diagnosis and treatment of posterior shoulder dislocation.
abstract: Acute traumatic posterior shoulder dislocations are rare. The diagnosis is often missed or delayed, as radiologic abnormalities can be subtle. We report a case of a 37-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with severe right shoulder pain and inability to move his arm after a motor vehicle collision. Based on examination, he was initially thought to have an anterior dislocation; however, point-of-care (POC) ultrasound clearly demonstrated a posterior shoulder dislocation. Real-time ultrasound-guided intra-articular local anesthetic injection facilitated closed reduction in the emergency department without procedural sedation, and POC ultrasound confirmed successful reduction at the bedside after the procedure. This case demonstrates that POC ultrasound can be a useful diagnostic tool in the rapid assessment and treatment for patients with suspected posterior shoulder dislocation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA. sierra.c.beck@emory.edu
authors.forename: Sierra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: Mikaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chilstrom
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D007270:Injections, Intra-Articular; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008349:Manipulation, Orthopedic; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D012783:Shoulder Dislocation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D008012:Lidocaine