RESEARCH - Ultrasound guidance does not improve benefit of joint injections for arthritis

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From Reuters Health Information

J. Brown, MD

Ultrasound Guidance Does Not Improve Benefit of Joint Injections for Arthritis

March 19, 2010 — Although ultrasound guidance improves the accuracy of

steroid joint injections for inflammatory arthritis, it does not lead

to better clinical outcomes, according to an online report March 10th

in Arthritis and Rheumatism.

In practice, most joint injections are delivered using clinical

examination to guide the injection, but a number of studies have

demonstrated inaccuracy rates of up to 63%, which " may contribute to

the lack of clinical benefit observed in some patients, " said senior

author Dr. Kane, from Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin,

Ireland, and his coauthors.

Ultrasound, however, " allows direct visualization of the injection

needle within the joint structures in real time...and has been shown

in small series to improve accuracy of needle placement and joint

aspiration compared to clinical examination guidance, " the authors

said.

Their goal in the present study was to confirm, on a larger scale,

that ultrasound guidance does in fact improve the accuracy of needle

placement and to see if clinical outcomes are also enhanced.

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Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/718832

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