Ultrasound-Guided Interventions in Lateral Epicondylitis.

Lateral epicondylitis is a painful condition related to the myotendinous origin of the extensor muscles at the lateral epicondyle of the humerus. Primary treatment typically involves the use of rest, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and physiotherapy. However, in refractory cases where conventional therapy is ineffective, ultrasound-guided injection therapies have become a growing form of treatment. These include needle tenotomy, autologous whole blood injection (AWB), platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection and steroid injection. The consensus regarding the efficacy of individual approaches of ultrasound-guided treatment is unclear in the literature, and is explored further in this review.When evaluating these injection therapies individually, there are multiple case series describing the efficacy of each intervention in refractory lateral epicondylitis. A systematic review of needle tenotomy demonstrates an improvement in pain symptoms for patients with this condition, but all studies were poorly designed with no placebo or control group. Additionally, for PRP therapy, a systematic review performed in 2013 demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in pain and functionality for refractory lateral epicondylitis. However, these studies were similarly associated with a high risk of bias. Autologous whole blood injection has been evaluated through well-designed studies to show statistically significant reductions in pain with this intervention. But very few studies in total have been completed using AWB for lateral epicondylitis, and therefore no clear conclusions can be drawn at this time. Finally, corticosteroid use overall is unsupported in the evidence both in the short and long term, especially given that this condition is not an inflammatory pathology.

Hip capsular thickness correlates with range of motion limitations in femoroacetabular impingement.

PURPOSE: Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a clinical entity of the hip causing derangements in range of motion, pain, gait, and function. Computer-assisted modeling and clinical studies suggest that patients with FAI have increased capsular thickness compared to those without.A retrospective chart review was performed to assess relationships between capsular thickness, hip range of motion, and demographic factors in patients with FAI. METHODS: Local Research Ethics Board approval was obtained to extract electronic medical records for 188 patients at a single institution who had undergone hip arthroscopy. Procedures were performed from 2009 to 2017 by a single, fellowship-trained, board-certified sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon. Inclusion criteria were preoperative hip range of motion testing, positive clinical impingement testing, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the affected hip. Patient demographics, hip range of motion, and time to surgery were recorded. MRIs were reviewed by a board-certified musculoskeletal radiologist blinded to clinical data. Maximum thickness of the anterior hip capsule was measured in axial, axial oblique, and sagittal oblique sequences. Anterior capsular thickness was also measured at the level of the femoral head-neck junction in axial sequences (axial midline). RESULTS: Axial midline capsular thickness was negatively correlated with hip flexion (r = - 0.196, p = 0.0042) and internal rotation (r = - 0.143, p = 0.0278). Significant differences were seen between genders in axial midline thickness (5.3 ± 1.4 mm males/4.8 ± 1.3 mm females, p = 0.0079), flexion (113° ± 18° males/120° ± 17° females, p = 0.0029), and internal rotation (23° ± 13° males/29° ± 12° females, p = 0.0155). Significant differences also existed between side affected in flexion (116° ± 17° right/119° ± 17° left, p = 0.0396) and internal rotation (26° ± 12° right/29° ± 13° left, p = 0.0029). Positive correlation was observed between axial oblique capsular thickness and flexion (r = 0.2345) (p = 0.0229). CONCLUSIONS: Increased anterior hip capsular thickness at the femoral head-neck correlates with limitations in hip range of motion in FAI. The strength of this relationship may be affected between pathologies, genders, and affected side. Pathologic thickening of the hip capsule may contribute to restricted hip mobility on clinical examination, and elucidation of this relationship may provide guidance into capsular management during hip arthroscopy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4, retrospective case series.

Ultrasound-guided gadolinium joint injections for magnetic resonance arthrography.

PURPOSE: To determine the feasibility and accuracy of ultrasound (US) -guided gadolinium injection for MR arthrography of shoulders, wrists, hips, and knee joints as an alternate technique to fluoroscopy. METHODS: One hundred patients referred to our center for an MR arthrogram of shoulders, wrists, hips, and knees were included in the study. There were 53 males and 47 females and ages ranged from 17 to 63 years (mean age, 37). US was used to guide the needle tip into the joint. The intra-articular location of the needle tip was confirmed by fluoroscopic visualization of injected iodinated contrast medium, prior to gadolinium injection. The patients then proceeded for the MRI examination. RESULTS: Ninety-nine of the 100 patients were successfully injected with gadolinium under US guidance. One patient had a vasovagal reaction after local anesthetic injection and the procedure was aborted. CONCLUSION: US is an effective alternate guidance technique for the injection of gadolinium into shoulder, hip, knee, and wrist joints for MR arthrography. Its advantages are cost effectiveness, ease of performance, and lack of radiation.

Image-guided corticosteroid injection of calcific tendonitis of gluteus maximus.

Gluteus maximus tendonitis with its clinical and imaging patterns has been described in radiologic, orthopedic, and rheumatology texts and journals. Image-guided treatment, however, is not a familiar approach and has only been described in one case report in the English literature to the best of our knowledge. We present 4 patients with calcific tendonitis of the gluteus maximus who presented with excruciating pain in the posterior upper thigh with limitation of daily activities. The diagnosis was based on the characteristic radiologic appearances of calcifications in the tendon with cortical bone erosion and muscle edema. Treatment was with image-guided (fluoroscopy or computed tomography) injection of a local anesthetic and corticosteroid. All patients were pain-free on follow up.