Acute painful calcific tendonitis of the shoulder

A 39-year-old woman with diabetes presented with a history of disabling pain in the right shoulder for 5 days. She had pain and stiffness for last 8 months, which did not respond to physiotherapy and NSAIDs. The shoulder movements were significantly restricted and painful. A radiograph revealed a large radio-opaque shadow under the acromion process (figure 1A), suggestive of calcific tendonitis. It was confirmed with MRI (figure 1B). Arthroscopic decompression of the calcific deposit (‘chalky paste’ like) was done (figure 2A–E). It gave instantaneous and dramatic pain relief. Calcific tendonitis occurs in 3%–10% of the population and is most commonly found in the shoulder joint. In 80%, it affects the supraspinatus tendon of the rotator cuff.1 2 It is commonly found in middle-aged people and the risk factors include metabolic disorders (eg, diabetes) and autoimmune diseases (eg, rheumatoid arthritis). These lesions...
Source: Postgraduate Medical Journal - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Images Source Type: research