Accuracy of blind versus ultrasound‐guided suprapatellar bursal injection

Purpose. To compare the accuracy rates between ultrasound (US)‐guided and blind knee intra‐articular injection via the suprapatellar bursa. Methods. Ninety‐nine patients with radiographically confirmed knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren/Lawrence grade 2 or 3) without effusion were included. Fifty patients were assigned to the US‐guided injection group and 49 to the blind injection group. After a US‐guided or blind injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) and contrast dye through the suprapatellar bursa into the knee joint, a radiographic image was obtained in each case to ascertain whether all injected material had reached the intra‐articular space. Results. US‐guided HA injection exhibited a significantly greater accuracy (48 of 50 knees, 96.0%) than blind injection (41 of 49 knees, 83.7%). Conclusions. Intra‐articular injections through the suprapatellar bursa under US guidance increased the accuracy of knee joint injections. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound,2011