Gadopentate (Gd)-enhanced magentic resonance (MR) imaging for diagnosis of periarthritis of the shoulder joint is reported. Thirty-seven patients (39 shoulders) with periarthritis of the shoulder were examined by means of MR imaging with T1- and T2-weighted sequences. T1-weighted images were again obtained following intravenous administration of Gd dimeglumine in the 11 shoulders. Five normal volunteers and three patients with recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation were compared with the above patients. We assessed the signal intensity of the subacromial bursa, the supraspinatus tendon, the axillary portion in the gleno-humeral joint, the tendon sheath of the long head of the biceps and the humeral head. In the Gd-T1 weighted images, the area of the subacromial bursa revealed high signal intensity in patients with periarthritis of the shoulder compared with normal volunteers and patients with recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation.
The authors conclude that Gd MR imaging is useful for illustrating the pathology associated with periarthritis of the shoulder.
