Original articleLong-term effects of extracorporeal shockwave therapy in chronic calcific tendinitis of the shoulder*
Section snippets
Materials and methods
Outpatients with CT were screened for suitability for enrollment in the study. Patients who had persistent shoulder pain in combination with calcareous deposits in the supraspinatus or adjacent infraspinatus tendon were managed by the study protocol. Between 1995 and 1996, 115 patients (67 men and 48 women), with a mean age of 49 years (range, 28-77 years) and a mean 5-year history of pain (range, 1-36 years), were enrolled in the study and received ESWT. The inclusion criteria were painful CT
Results
The follow-up rate was 87% after 3 months and 72% after 6 months. Four years after ESWT (F3), 92% of the initial patient population (N = 115) was interviewed. Twenty-three patients (twenty percent) had had surgery on the affected shoulder since the treatment. Of the original patients, 68 (59%) were assessed with the protocol, with 13% refusing to undergo examination. Only 23% of group A (1 session of high-dose ESWT) and 37% of group B (2 sessions of high-dose ESWT) had received no further
Discussion
In the course of the 4-year follow-up after ESWT, the rate of surgical interventions performed was high. Given that 8% of patients were lost to follow-up, the percentage might be even higher than 20%. According to Geschwend et al,10 over 90% of patients with CT can be cured by conservative treatment. In a study of patients with CT by Harmon,11 17% underwent surgery. Only 1 patient out of 100 underwent surgery in a series published by Litchman et al.13 The main reason for this difference in
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Cited by (0)
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Reprint requests: W. Daecke, MD, Department of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, Orthopaedic University Hospital, University of Heidelberg, Schlierbacher Landstrasse 200 a, D-69118 Heidelberg, Germany.