Clin Orthop Surg.  2015 Sep;7(3):351-358. 10.4055/cios.2015.7.3.351.

Evaluation of the Effusion within Biceps Long Head Tendon Sheath Using Ultrasonography

• Park I
• Lee HJ
• Kim SE
• Bae SH
• Lee KY
• Park KS
• Kim YS

• KMID: 2234090
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4055/cios.2015.7.3.351

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Many shoulder diseases are related to glenohumeral joint synovitis and effusion. The purpose of the present study is to detect effusion within the biceps long head tendon sheath as the sign of glenohumeral joint synovitis using ultrasonography, and to evaluate the clinical meaning of effusion within the biceps long head tendon sheath.
METHODS
A consecutive series of 569 patients who underwent ultrasonography for shoulder pain were reviewed retrospectively and ultimately, 303 patients were included. The authors evaluated the incidence and amount of the effusion within the biceps long head tendon sheath on the ultrasonographic short axis view. Furthermore, the authors evaluated the correlation between the amount of effusion within the biceps long head tendon sheath and the range of motion and the functional score.
RESULTS
The effusion within the biceps long head tendon sheath was detected in 58.42% of the patients studied: 69.23% in adhesive capsulitis, 56.69% in rotator cuff tear, 41.03% in calcific tendinitis, and 33.33% in biceps tendinitis. The average amount of the effusion within the biceps long head tendon sheath was 1.7 +/- 1.6 mm, and it was measured to be the largest in adhesive capsulitis. The amount of effusion within biceps long head tendon sheath showed a moderate to high degree of correlation with the range of motion, and a low degree of correlation with the functional score and visual analogue scale for pain in each type of shoulder disease.
CONCLUSIONS
The effusion within the biceps long head tendon sheath is closely related to the range of motion and clinical scores in patients with painful shoulders. Ultrasonographic detection of the effusion within the biceps long head tendon sheath might be a simple and easy method to evaluate shoulder function.

Keyword

Tendons; Shoulder joint; Synovial fluid; Synovitis; Ultrasonography

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Range of Motion, Articular
Retrospective Studies
Shoulder Joint/physiopathology/*ultrasonography
Synovitis/*ultrasonography
Tendons/*ultrasonography

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Effusion within the biceps long head tendon sheath. The longest distance from the sheath to the tendon margin of the long head biceps tendon (arrow) was measured as the amount of the effusion within the biceps long head tendon sheath. GT: greater tubercle, LT: lesser tubercle.

• 

  Fig. 2 The incidence of effusion within the biceps long head tendon sheath in each type of shoulder disease.

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  Fig. 3 The amount of effusion within the biceps long head tendon sheath in each type of shoulder disease.

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