THE VALUE OF ULTRASONOGRAPHY OF THE LOCOM OTORY SYSTEM WITH SPECIAL CONSIDERATION BEING GIVEN TO RADIATION EXPOSURE AND COST REDUCTION

In recent years, ultrasonic assessment of the locomotory system has be come established both as a screening method in patients with chronic d isorders and for evaluating acute injuries, Thanks to technical improv ements to the equipment (use of high-frequency probes up to 20 MHz), e ver smaller structures can be visualized. Ultrasonography can be carri ed out immediately following the clinical - and possibly radiological - assessment, by one and the same investigator, and requires little ex tra time. A bilateral examination in particular permits good evaluatio n of the extent of an injury and, with appropriate experience and good -quality equipment, an accurate assessment of the anatomical topograph y. Ultrasonography should now be used as the primary imaging method in the diagnosis of injuries to the following parts of the locomotory sy stem, thus helping to minimize the number of expensive, and more invas ive, diagnostic procedures: muscles and tendons, peri-articular soft t issue (in particular shoulder, knee and elbow joints), detection of in tra-articular effusions, collections of fluid and, where applicable. u ltrasonically guided puncture. In numerous other problems, too (postop erative complications, foreign bodies, fractures, osteomyelitis, soft tissue inflammation, etc,), ultrasound can deliver the first informati on. In this way, expensive diagnostic techniques can be reserved for s pecial cases only, thus reducing costs. Furthermore, used as an adjunc tive method, ultrasonography can reduce the number of diagnostic and f ollow-up X-rays in the case of injuries to the AC joint, shoulder disl ocations, Hill-Sachs lesions, fractures in children, and for the detec tion of foreign bodies, again reducing radiation exposure and overall costs.