Ultrasound imaging for the
rheumatologist. I. Ultrasonography of the shoulder
A. Iagnocco1, E. Filippucci2, G. Meenagh3, A. Delle Sedie4,
L. Riente4, S. Bombardieri4,
W. Grassi2, G.
Valesini1
1Cattedra di Reumatologia,
Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Roma, Italy; 2Cattedra di Reumatologia,
Università Politecnica delle Marche, Jesi, Italy; 3Department of Rheumatology, Musgrave Park Hospital, Belfast, UK; 4Unità Operativa di Reumatologia,
Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
ABSTRACT
Ultrasonography (US) has
proved to be a useful diagnostic tool in patients with shoulder pain and/or
limited range of motion. It allows careful assessment of a wide range of
changes involving many different anatomic structures of the shoulder girdle,
such as the rotator cuff tendons (tendonitis, tendon tears and calcific
deposits), the long head of the biceps tendon (tenosynovitis, tendonitis,
tears, rupture and displacement), the bursae (bursitis), the soft tissues of
the gleno-humeral (synovial proliferation, joint effusion) and
acromioclavicular joints (synovial proliferation and joint effusion). In
addition, it is also a reliable tool in the evaluation of bony profiles
detecting the presence of erosions and osteophytes. The use of high quality
equipment and the application of a standard scanning protocol are mandatory for
reliable US assessment of shoulder pathology.
Key words
Ultrasonography, shoulder.
Please address correspondence
to: Annamaria Iagnocco,
Cattedra Reumatologia, Dip. Clinica e Terapia Medica Applicata,
Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, V.le del Policlinico 155, Roma 00161, Italy.
E-mail: annamaria.iagnocco@uniroma1.it
Clin Exp Rheumatol 2006; 24: 6-11.
© CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RHEUMATOLOGY 2006.