Basic scienceThe influence of ultrasound guidance in the rate of success of acromioclavicular joint injection: an experimental study on human cadavers
Section snippets
Materials and methods
A total of 80 ACJs (40 left and 40 right) from 40 cadavers (18 women and 22 men) with a mean age of 75.1 years (range, 54-91 years) at the time of death were used for this study. The cadavers were preserved by the method of Thiel18 at the Institute of Anatomy of the Medical University of Graz. This special embalming technique was developed over a period of 30 years. It preserves original color, consistency, and transparency of the tissues, as well as allows an almost full range of passive
Results
Of the 40 US-guided injections, 36 (90%) were intra-articular, whereas in the palpation group, only 28 of 40 injections (70%) were intra-articular (Fig. 3). Statistical analysis with a χ2 test shows a significant difference in the rate of intra-articular ACJ injection (P = .025). The overall success rate was 80% (64 of 80). We did not observe any correlations between the success of an injection and gender or side. Extra-articular injections of the US-guided group were placed superior to the
Discussion
The most important finding of this study was to show that the aid of US guidance significantly improves the accuracy of injections of the ACJ.
Injection of local anesthetics into the ACJ is frequently carried out to confirm diagnosis of symptomatic ACJ arthritis. Therefore, correct intra-articular needle placement is a prerequisite for the validity of this test. Peri-articular injection can lead to a misdiagnosis. According to Strobel et al,16 the presence of capsular hypertrophy on magnetic
Conclusions
The use of US guidance significantly improves the success rate in ACJ injection, and we recommend it for therapeutic ACJ injections in routine clinical practice.
Disclaimer
The authors, their immediate families, and any research foundations with which they are affiliated have not received any financial payments or other benefits from any commercial entity related to the subject of this article.
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Investigational Review Board approval was not required for this study.