Adhesive capsulitis: sonographic changes in the rotator cuff interval with arthroscopic correlation

Objective To evaluate the sonographic findings of the rotator interval in patients with clinical evidence of adhesive capsulitis immediately prior to arthroscopy.Design and patients We prospectively compared 30 patients with clinically diagnosed adhesive capsulitis (20 females, 10 males, mean age 50 years) with a control population of 10 normal volunteers and 100 patients with a clinical suspicion of rotator cuff tears. Grey-scale and colour Doppler sonography of the rotator interval were used.Results Twenty-six patients (87%) demonstrated hypoechoic echotexture and increased vascularity within the rotator interval, all of whom had had symptoms for less than 1 year. Three patients had hypoechoic echotexture but no increase in vascularity, and one patient had a normal sonographic appearance. All patients were shown to have fibrovascular inflammatory soft-tissue changes in the rotator interval at arthroscopy commensurate with adhesive capsulitis. None of the volunteers or the patients with a clinical diagnosis of rotator cuff tear showed such changes.Conclusions Sonography can provide an early accurate diagnosis of adhesive capsulitis by assessing the rotator interval for hypoechoic vascular soft tissue.