Palpation versus ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injections and short-term effect in the distal radioulnar joint disorder: a randomized, prospective single-blinded study

The aim of this study was to conduct a randomized, prospective single-blinded clinical study on the mid-term benefits and accuracy rate of the ultrasound (US)-guided versus palpation-guided intra-articular (IA) injections for the treatment of distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) disorder. Subjects with DRUJ disorder (n = 60) were randomly assigned to undergo US-guided or palpation-guided IA injection. Primary outcomes were measured with Disability of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire (DASH) and secondary outcomes included Verbal Numeric Pain Scale (VNS), Modified Mayo Wrist Score (MMWS), range of motion (ROM), and accuracy rate between two groups; 1.25 mL of mixed material (0.5 ml Omnipaque + 1 % lidocaine 0.25 ml + triamcinolone 20 mg 0.5 ml) was injected into the intra-articular space of the DRUJ. Treatment effects were assessed by using VNS, DASH, MMWS, and passive ROM of the DRUJ (supination, pronation from neutral) before the injections and at 1, 3, and 6 months after the injections. After the US-guided and palpation-guided IA injection into DRUJ, a radiographic image was taken to determine whether the injected material had reached the IA space or infiltrated into the soft tissue. US-guided IA injections showed significantly higher accuracy (100 %) than palpation-guided IA injections (75.8 %) in DRUJ. VNS, DASH, MMWS, and ROM were improved at 1, 3, and 6 months in both groups. There was no significant difference in clinical outcomes between the group receiving US-guided injections and the group receiving palpation-guided injections. US-guided IA injection showed significantly higher accuracy than palpation-guided IA injection in the DRUJ, and corticosteroid IA injections were effective in improving of the pain of patients with DRUJ disorder during 6 months of follow-up.