Sonographic diagnosis of the injured acromioclavicular joint. A standardized examination procedure

The possibility of using ultrasound leads to an improvement and extension of the methods conventionally used for diagnostic examination of the injured acromio-clavicular (AC) joint. Periarticular soft tissues can be assessed, as well as the osseous parts making up the joint. Coraco-clavicular ligame...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inDer Unfallchirurg Vol. 95; no. 8; p. 393
Main Authors Fenkl, R, Gotzen, L
Format Journal Article
LanguageGerman
Published Germany 01.08.1992
Subjects
Acromioclavicular Joint - diagnostic imaging
Acromioclavicular Joint - injuries
Acromioclavicular Joint - surgery
Adolescent
Adult
Female
Humans
Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - instrumentation
Joint Dislocations - diagnostic imaging
Joint Dislocations - surgery
Ligaments, Articular - diagnostic imaging
Ligaments, Articular - injuries
Ligaments, Articular - surgery
Male
Middle Aged
Transducers
Ultrasonography - instrumentation
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:The possibility of using ultrasound leads to an improvement and extension of the methods conventionally used for diagnostic examination of the injured acromio-clavicular (AC) joint. Periarticular soft tissues can be assessed, as well as the osseous parts making up the joint. Coraco-clavicular ligaments in particular can be visualized well, and the coraco-clavicular distance can be measured precisely. Evaluation of the ultrasound findings makes classification of the grade of severity of injury according to Tossy much easier. We examined 35 injured AC joints of all grades of severity. With two standard planes of examination--a frontal and a sagittal plane--it was possible to obtain information about the grade severity of the injury in every case. Instability of the joint is diagnosed by measuring the coraco-clavicular distance with and without weights pulling on each arm. Standard X-rays of the shoulder remain mandatory to exclude fractures. When ultrasound examination is possible, however, X-ray examination of the shoulder with weights pulling on the arms is unnecessary.
ISSN:0177-5537