The Role of Shear Wave Elastography in the Assessment of Lateral Epicondylitis

Background: Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is the most common cause of lateral elbow pain.
Objective: To evaluate the clinical usefulness of shear-wave elastography as an objective method for the assessment of the affected tendons in lateral epicondylitis.
Patients and methods: This cross-sectional study included 35 patients with unilateral lateral epicondylitis for the evaluation of qualitative and quantitative shear-wave elastography (SWE) parameters.
Results: Mean duration of symptoms among the studied group was 7.17±5.6 months. There was a significant difference in hypoechogenicity, swelling, cortical irregularities, and calcification among elbows with LE than those without (97.1 vs 8.6%, 42.9 vs 5.7%, 42.9 vs 0%, and 14.3 vs 0% respectively). The mean velocity and stiffness in affected elbows were (2.3±0.23 and 16.9± 5.7 m/s) compared to the non-affected side (6.1±1.07 kPa and 112.9± 33.4 kPa) (P=0.001). SWE had the highest sensitivity (97.2% vs 97.1%) and specificity (98% vs 98.5) for velocity and stiffness, respectively. There was a highly statistically significant decreased pain severity (VAS) scale after treatment than before (P=0.001).
Conclusion: In patients with lateral epicondylitis, SWE can be utilised as a method with excellent repeatability and appropriate diagnostic accuracy for assessment and monitoring the therapy impact.