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REVIEW article

Front. Pain Res.
Sec. Musculoskeletal Pain
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpain.2024.1455081

Clinical and Functional Outcomes of Ultrasound-Guided Versus Landmark-Guided Injection of Corticosteroids in Patients with Shoulder Pain: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Provisionally accepted
Yifan Zhang Yifan Zhang Mingwei Hu Mingwei Hu Jitong Wei Jitong Wei Chunyang Su Chunyang Su Cuicui Guo Cuicui Guo Shuai Xiang Shuai Xiang Hao Xu Hao Xu *
  • The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: This meta-analysis evaluated the effects of ultrasound-guided (USG) and landmark-guided (LMG) injections of corticosteroids into the shoulder joint cavity of patients with shoulder pain.The PubMed database was searched for articles (January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2023) comparing USG and LMG injections of corticosteroids for treatment of adult shoulder pain. Two authors independently performed data extraction and appraisal. The outcome measures collected were the visual analogue scale (VAS) score and VAS score change at 1 and 6 weeks post-injection and range-of-motion (ROM) at 6 weeks post-injection.Results: Thirteen studies, including 656 patients, were reviewed (USG and LMG groups, 328 patients each). The VAS score at 1 week (mean difference [MD] -0.98, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-1.66, -0.30], P = 0.005), but not at 6 weeks (MD -0.15, 95%CI [-0.81, 0.50], P = 0.46), post-injection differed significantly. VAS score changes at 1 week (MD 0.31, 1.12], P = 0.45) or 6 weeks (MD 0.89, 95%CI [-0.06, 1.84], P = 0.07) post-injection did not differ significantly. Additionally, the ROM at 6 weeks post-injection showed no significant difference, except for abduction (MD = 3.01, 95%CI [0.91, 5.11], P = 0.005).This meta-analysis provided evidence that USG corticosteroid injection may have a better effect than LMG corticosteroid injection for early-stage shoulder pain and abduction in the mid-to long-term, but does not affect later shoulder pain or other ROMs.

    Keywords: Shoulder Joint, ultrasound, range of motion, Visual analogue scale, randomized controlled trials

    Received: 26 Jun 2024; Accepted: 03 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Hu, Wei, Su, Guo, Xiang and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hao Xu, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.