Annals of the rheumatic diseases
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Modified suprascapular nerve block with bupivacaine alone effectively controls chronic shoulder pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Chronic shoulder pain is a common and disabling symptom in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It has been previously shown that a suprascapular nerve block (SSNB) using the standard mixture of bupivacaine and adrenaline (Ba) plus methylprednisolone (P), which is routinely used in pain clinics, results in a considerable improvement in pain relief and range of movement compared with conventional intra-articular steroid injections in such patients. ⋯ Results favoured Ba alone; the differences between the two treatments reached statistical significance for stiffness (at 12 weeks) and active abduction (at one week). It is concluded that the addition of P to the SSNB mixture confers no benefit in these patients.