Abstract
Objective
To evaluate the correlations between subacromial bursitis (bursal thickening and effusion)
on ultrasonography and its response to subacromial corticosteroid injection in patients
with rotator cuff disease.
Design
Prospective, longitudinal comparison study.
Setting
University-affiliated tertiary care hospital.
Participants
Patients with rotator cuff disease (N=69) were classified into 3 groups based on ultrasonographic
findings; (1) normative bursa group (group 1, n=23): bursa and effusion thickness
<1mm; (2) bursa thickening group (group 2, n=22): bursa thickness >2mm and effusion
thickness <1mm; and (3) bursa effusion group (group 3, n=24): bursa thickness <1mm
and effusion thickness >2mm.
Intervention
A single subacromial injection with 20mg of triamcinolone acetonide.
Main Outcome Measures
Visual analog scale (VAS) of shoulder pain, Shoulder Disability Questionnaire (SDQ),
angles of active shoulder range of motion (flexion, abduction, external rotation,
and internal rotation), and bursa and effusion thickness at pre- and posttreatment
at week 8.
Results
There were no significant differences between the 3 groups in demographic characteristics
pretreatment. Groups 2 and 3 showed a significant difference compared with group 1
in changes on the VAS and abduction; group 3 showed a significant difference compared
with group 1 in changes of the SDQ, internal rotation, and external rotation; and
all groups showed significant differences when compared with each other (groups 1
and 3, 2 and 3, and 1 and 2) in changes of thickness.
Conclusions
A patient with ultrasonographic observation of subacromial bursitis, instead of normative
bursa, can expect better outcome with subacromial corticosteroid injection. Therefore,
we recommend a careful selection of patients using ultrasonography prior to injection.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
SDQ (Shoulder Disability Questionnaire), VAS (visual analog scale)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 26, 2016
Footnotes
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
