Ultrasound-guided infiltrations allow for the administration of medication under ultrasound guidance directly into the target area (joint, sheath, tissue), ensuring that it can act precisely where needed. This approach offers three fundamental advantages:

• Administering low doses of medications
• Injecting medications where they are most effective (some therapeutic agents are ineffective unless injected with extreme precision)
• Maintaining real-time control over the needle’s path, thus avoiding collateral damage to important structures (veins, arteries, nerves, tendons)

Therefore, ultrasound-guided infiltrations offer greater effectiveness, fewer side effects, and reduced damage to local structures.

The procedure for an ultrasound-guided infiltration involves using an ultrasound machine to guide and monitor the infiltration (or drainage) procedure, assisting the specialist in inserting the needle with extreme precision and performing the treatment correctly. The infiltration itself takes only a few seconds, and the entire procedure is performed using sterile field and single-use materials for a total duration of about 15-20 minutes. No preparation is required from the patient, and no hospitalization or post-exam rehabilitation process is involved. After a few hours, the patient can return to their normal daily activities; however, it is recommended to avoid intense or strenuous activities or sports for the following 24-48 hours.

Ultrasound-guided infiltrations can utilize various therapeutic agents:

• Anti-inflammatories: Steroids are commonly used to reduce swelling and inflammation, thereby reducing pain and functional impairment.
• Hyaluronic acid: Through viscosupplementation and viscoinduction, hyaluronic acid aims to restore the mechanical properties of the joints. Hyaluronic acid is a natural lubricant found in the joints. Administering it into a diseased joint helps compensate for the loss of natural hyaluronic acid (e.g., in osteoarthritis), thereby facilitating joint improvement.
• Blood-derived products (platelet gel, stem cells

Ultrasound-Guided Infiltrations: List of Services

Interventional radiology with ultrasound guidance comprises a set of techniques for guided infiltration, providing real-time visualization of the joint to be pharmacologically treated. In this field of medicine, there are several techniques and procedures aimed at resolving various orthopedic pathologies of traumatic or inflammatory origin.

Percutaneous ultrasound-guided lithotripsy is a minimally invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of painful calcifications in the shoulder (and other areas). It involves a removal procedure under local anesthesia, followed by the washing of the calcification (total or partial removal) and ultrasound-guided infiltration. The procedure takes about 20 minutes, with a complete recovery time of 24/48 hours.

Ultrasound-guided intra-articular infiltrations are outpatient therapies that treat pain and functional impairment in the joints of the shoulder, hip, knee, ankle, hand, foot, wrist, and elbow. With this infiltrative technique, medications are injected into the affected joint, while the ultrasound allows real-time monitoring of the needle’s path, directing it optimally toward the affected area. Main indications: osteoarthritis, hip, shoulder, knee, wrist, hand, ankle.

Extrarticular ultrasound-guided infiltrations, on the other hand, are specific procedures for the treatment of pathologies affecting tendons, bursae, and joint sheaths. Main indications: trigger finger, De Quervain’s syndrome, pubalgia, plantar fasciitis, peritrochanteric bursitis, Civinini-Morton neuroma, peritendinitis (Achilles tendon), carpal tunnel syndrome, Baker’s cyst.