Effectiveness of ultrasound-guided intra-articular drug injections in treating sternoclavicular arthritis: a single-group observational study.

Background: Current treatments for non-suppurative sternoclavicular arthritis mainly include conservative therapy and surgery. For patients who are unresponsive to conservative treatment and unwilling to undergo surgery, ultrasound-guided intra-articular drug injections offer a minimally invasive alternative. Due to the lack of efficacy evaluation for this therapy, this study aims to objectively assess the effectiveness and safety of this treatment method.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted, including seven patients with sternoclavicular arthritis who underwent ultrasound-guided intra-articular drug injections at Yiwu City Dermatology Hospital between December 2020 and December 2023.The inclusion criteria specified patients aged 18 to 65 who had not responded to conservative treatments, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and physical therapy. Ultrasound examinations were conducted to assess sternoclavicular joint space width, and pain levels were measured using the visual analog scale (VAS) before and after treatment.

Results: The study population consisted of five males and two females with a mean age of 42.75±7.19 years. All patients presented with pain and swelling in the sternoclavicular joint. Ultrasound imaging revealed expanded sternoclavicular joint spaces with small effusions and thickened joint capsules in all patients. Following treatment, there was a significant reduction in the sternoclavicular joint space width (P<0.01), and VAS scores showed a marked decrease at both 1 week and 1-month post-procedure (P<0.01), indicating substantial pain relief. No major complications were reported following the procedure, with only minor transient local discomfort observed in two patients, which resolved without further intervention.

Conclusions: Ultrasound-guided intra-articular drug injections are effective and safe in the treatment of sternoclavicular arthritis. This technique not only significantly alleviates pain but also reduces the expansion of the sternoclavicular joint space, with a low risk of complications.