Effectiveness of Ultrasound-Guided Versus Anatomic Landmark–Guided Corticosteroid Injection on Pain, Physical Function, and Safety in Patients With Subacromial Impingement Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided versus anatomic landmark–guided corticosteroid injection for the treatment of subacromial impingement syndrome. DESIGN: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, ClinicalTrials.gov, CBM, CNKI, and Wanfang databases were searched from inception to August 15, 2021, for randomized controlled trials comparing ultrasound-guided versus anatomic landmark–guided injections of corticosteroids for the treatment of subacromial impingement syndrome. RESULTS: Twelve randomized controlled trials with 891 patients were included in this study; 454 patients received ultrasound-guided injections and 437 received anatomic landmark–guided injections. Pooled results showed that ultrasound-guided injection was more beneficial for pain relief (10 trials; mean difference = −0.58; 95% confidence interval = −1.05 to −0.10; P = 0.017) and functional improvement (11 trials; standard mean difference = −0.84; 95% confidence interval = −1.41 to −0.27; P = 0.004). There was no significant difference in shoulder range of motion. In the subgroup analysis, there was a significant difference in pain relief and functional improvement at 6–8 wks and with methylprednisolone. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound-guided injection of corticosteroids is potentially superior to anatomic landmark–guided injection in improving the clinical symptoms of subacromial impingement syndrome; however, these findings should be interpreted with some caution as the quality of evidence was rated as moderate to very low.