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. 2025 Jun 5.
doi: 10.1007/s00270-025-04078-8. Online ahead of print.

Clinical Outcomes of Shoulder Artery Embolization for Adhesive Capsulitis

Ana María Fernández Martínez  1 , Patricia Cordero Carnicero  2 , Andrea Pérez Álvarez  3 , M Teresa Cuesta Marcos  4 , David Romero Alonso  2 , Sebastián Baldi  2
Affiliations

Clinical Outcomes of Shoulder Artery Embolization for Adhesive Capsulitis

Ana María Fernández Martínez et al. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. .

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical outcomes of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for adhesive capsulitis (AC) resistant to conventional treatments.

Materials and methods: This is a retrospective analysis performed between January 2015 and December 2024. TAE was performed with a suspension of imipenem/cilastatin sodium in contrast agent. Subjects were assessed before, 1 week, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after the procedure using the pain visual analogue scale (VAS) and the joint balance of Constant-Murley score (CMS). Demographic variables, risk factors, technical aspects and adverse events were also evaluated.

Results: The study included 128 TAE procedures in 118 patients with AC. 84/118 [71.7%] women; mean age 52.4 ± 8.7 years old. One patient was lost to follow-up. Six months after TAE, significant improvements were observed in terms of pain reduction 7.8 vs. 2.2, P < .001 and regarding mobility in flexion and abduction, respectively (90.1° vs. 143.3°, P < .001; 79.6° vs. 128.8°, P < .001). No major adverse events occurred. Clinical improvement was documented in 115/128 (89.8%) at 12-month follow-up.

Conclusions: TAE achieved pain reduction and functional improvement in patients with adhesive capsulitis refractory to conservative treatments.

Level of evidence: Level 4, Case Series.

Keywords: Adhesive capsulitis; Embolization; Imipenem/cilastatin sodium; Shoulder; Stiffness.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Consent for Publication: Consent for publication was obtained for every individual person’s data included in the study. Ethical Approval: The study performed was in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Our hospital clinical research ethics committee approved this study. Informed Consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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