Accuracy of non assisted glenohumeral joint injection in the office setting.
OBJECTIVE
The diagnostic and therapeutic success of shoulder joint injection depends on its accuracy. Two recent studies reported high success (93-96%) for non-imaging-assisted anterior injection in anesthetized patients. This study examined the accuracy of anterior shoulder injection in awake patients under conditions similar to the office setting.


METHODS
The study group consisted of 166 consecutive patients with shoulder pain who underwent diagnostic magnetic resonance arthrography at a tertiary medical center in 2011-2012. As part of the examination, contrast material was injected into the glenohumeral joint via an anterior approach by a certified musculoskeletal radiologist without any image assistance. Success was defined as contrast material limited to the intra-articular joint on the scan, without scatter to the periauricular tissue.


RESULTS
A successful injection was verified by magnetic resonance arthography in 163 patients (98.2%).


CONCLUSIONS
Non-assisted anterior shoulder injection is highly accurate (98.2%) in the hands of an experienced radiologist, even in awake patients.
Department of Orthopedics, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus, Petach Tikva 49100, Israel. Electronic address: eli.sidon@gmail.com.
Eliezer
E
Sidon
Steven
S
Velkes
Shai
S
Shemesh
Jakob
J
Levy
Ernesto
E
Glaser
Yona
Y
Kosashvili
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007270:Injections, Intra-Articular / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D053783:Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Interventional; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009819:Office Visits; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020069:Shoulder Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
D000779:Anesthetics, Local
Anatomic landmarks; Glenohumeral injection; Intra-articular injection; Magnetic resonance arthrography; Shoulder joint injection