• Mehmet Zekai Pekkafahli, Mehmet Zeki Kiralp, Cihat Cinar Başekim, Emir Silit, Hakan Mutlu, Ersin Oztürk, Eşref Kizilkaya, and Hasan Dursun.
• Department of Radiology, Gülhane Military Medicine Academy, Haydarpaşa Training Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. zekai_p@yahoo.com
• J Ultrasound Med. 2003 Jun 1; 22 (6): 553-9.

ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of sonographic guidance for therapeutic intra-articular sacroiliac joint injections in patients with sacroiliitis.MethodsThirty-four consecutive patients with sacroiliitis were enrolled in this study. The synovial portions of 60 sacroiliac joints received injections under sonographic guidance. For treatment, a mixture of a corticosteroid and a local anesthetic was injected intra-articularly. Fluoroscopic spot images were obtained to assess the accuracy of the sonographically guided technique.ResultsOf the 60 sonographically guided injections, 46 (76.7%) were successful (i.e., intra-articular), and 14 (23.3%) were missed. The successful intra-articular injection rate was 60% in the first 30 injections, and it gradually improved, reaching 93.5% in the last 30 injections. The mean procedure time was 9 minutes.ConclusionsOur initial experience suggests that sonographically guided therapeutic injections to sacroiliac joints could be valuable alternatives to other guidance modalities in patients with sacroiliitis. In the hands of experienced radiologists, this technique is safe, rapid, and reproducible.

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