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. 2019 Feb 26;27(3):146-147.
doi: 10.4103/JMU.JMU_103_18. eCollection 2019 Jul-Sep.

Contrast-enhanced Ultrasonography for the Diagnosis of Frozen Shoulder

Kamal Mezian  1 , Ke-Vin Chang  2
Affiliations

Contrast-enhanced Ultrasonography for the Diagnosis of Frozen Shoulder

Kamal Mezian et al. J Med Ultrasound. .

Abstract

Introduction: Adhesive capsulitis (AC), also known as frozen shoulder, is challenging for diagnosis, particularly in early stages. A promising tool is contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS), which has been successfully applied on musculoskeletal ultrasonography.

Methods and results: Two antecedent studies reported the application of CEUS on AC patients although different methods were used. The first research team administered the contrast media intravenously to facilitate detection of microcirculation through observing different distributions of time-intensity curves between the affected and unaffected shoulders. The second study has introduced a pioneering approach, injecting the contrast media mixed with saline directly into the glenohumeral joint. The authors designated this novel method as "US arthrography". According to our best knowledge, this is the first study reporting the application of intraarticular CEUS in humans.

Conclusion: Both presented studies reported CEUS to be capable of differentiating shoulders with AC from normal controls.

Keywords: Adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder; arthrography; contrast agent; diagnostic ultrasound; frozen shoulder.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

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