Thickening of the Glenohumeral Axillary Recess as an Ultrasound Sign of Adhesive Capsulitis
Journal: Advances in Medicine and Engineering Interdisciplinary Research DOI: 10.32629/ameir.v3i1.3726
Abstract
In the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen an increase in cases of adhesive capsulitis (AC). Patients presented with shoulder pain associated with limited external rotation and abduction movements. Clinical criteria are considered the standard for diagnosis, with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) an excellent tool for its imaging diagnosis. Typical findings are thickening and changes in signal intensity of the joint capsule in the axillary recess and in the rotator interval, as well as thickening of the coracohumeral ligament (CHL). Ultrasonographic examination is controversial and only a few studies have attempted to prove its accuracy, based on the evaluation of CHL thickening and increased vascularity in the rotator interval. Recently, the measurement of the capsule of the axillary recess has been proposed as an ultrasound sign of AC, allowing easy analysis and possible during a bilateral comparative examination. A thickness greater than 2.0 mm in the axillary recess capsule measured on ultrasound was correlated with signs of AC on MRI. In all the cases that we evaluated during this period, we observed the same correlation.
Keywords
shoulder; adhesive capsulitis; ultrasonography; magnetic resonance imaging
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[3] Harris G, Bou-Haidar P, Harris C. Adhesive capsulitis: review of imaging and treatment. J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2013;57:633-43.
[4] Mengiardi B, Pfirrmann CW, Gerber C, Hodler J, Zanetti M. Frozen shoulder: MR arthrographic findings. Radiology. 2004;233:486-92.
[5] Chellathurai A, Subbiah K, Elangovan A, Kannappan S. Adhesive capsulitis: MRI correlation with clinical stages and proposal of MRI staging. Indian J Radiol Imaging. 2019;29:19-24.
[6] Homsi C, Bordalo-Rodrigues M, da Silva JJ, Stump XM. Ultrasound in adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder: is assessment of the coracohumeral ligament a valuable diagnostic tool? Skeletal Radiol. 2006;35:673-8.
[7] Sernik RA, Vidal Leão R, Luis Bizetto E, Sanford Damasceno R, Horvat N, Guido Cerri G. Thickening of the axillary recess capsule on ultrasound correlates with magnetic resonance imaging signs of adhesive capsulitis. Ultrasound. 2019;27:183-90.
[8] Kim DH, Cho CH, Sung DH. Ultrasound measurements of axillary recess capsule thickness in unilateral frozen shoulder:study of correlation with MRI measurements. Skeletal Radiol. 2018;47:1491-7.
[9] Park G-Y, Park JH, Kwon DR, Kwon D-G, Park J. Do the findings of magnetic resonance imaging, arthrography, and ultrasonography reflect clinical impairment in patients with idiopathic adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder? Arch Phys Med Rehab. 2017;98:1995-2001.
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