You will be provided with the titles and abstracts of a collection of medical RCT reports studying a clinical question -- for instance, the efficacy of an intervention on some medical outcome. Please write a few sentences synthesizing the findings of these reports, which could serve as a conclusion section for a systematic review article. Your response should not include any other text. The RCT reports are below.



Title 1:
Ultrasound-guided shoulder injections in the treatment of subacromial bursitis.
Abstract 1:
To investigate the treatment effectiveness between ultrasound-guided and blind injection techniques in the treatment of subacromial bursitis.
                A total of 40 patients with sonographic confirmation of subacromial bursitis were recruited into this study. These patients were divided into blind and ultrasound-guided injection groups. The shoulder abduction range of motion was compared before injections and 1 wk after the completion of injections in both groups.
                The shoulder abduction range of motion before injection in the blind injection group was 71.03 +/- 12.38 degrees and improved to 100 +/- 18.18 degrees 1 wk after the injection treatments. However, the improvement did not reveal significant statistical differences (P > 0.05). The shoulder abduction range of motion before injection in the ultrasound-guided injection group was 69.05 +/- 14.72 degrees and improved to 139.29 +/- 20.14 degrees 1 wk after the injection treatments (P < 0.05).
                Ultrasound may be used as an adjuvant tool in guiding the needle accurately into the inflamed subacromial bursa. The ultrasound-guided injection technique can result in significant improvement in shoulder abduction range of motion as compared with the blind injection technique in treating patients with subacromial bursitis.


Title 2:
A comparison of the effectiveness of landmark-guided injections and ultrasonography guided injections for shoulder pain.
Abstract 2:
To compare the effectiveness of landmark-guided local injections and ultrasonography (USG) guided injections for shoulder pain.
                A total 60 consecutive patients with shoulder pain due to soft tissue disorders was enrolled, and randomly assigned to receive triamcinolone (40 mg) either by landmark-guided (LMG, n=30) or USG guided (n=30) injection. The patients were evaluated on admission and 6 weeks after the injection. Clinical assessment included demographic and clinical data, a visual analoge scale (VAS) for pain (0 to 10 cm), the Constant scale (0 to 100) for function, passive and active shoulder range of motion (ROM) with goniometric evaluation, and postinjection adverse effects.
                Initial demographic, clinical and USG findings in the groups exhibited no significant differences. Six weeks after injection, the VAS and the Constant score showed a significantly better improvement in USG group compared with LMG group (mean VAS score decrease: 4.0+/-1.7 for USG vs. 2.2+/-0.9 for LMG, P<0.05; mean Constant score change: 32.2 for USG vs. 12.2 for LMG, P<0.05). Significant improvements were observed in active and passive ROM values in both groups, USG group values being better. Initially 18 patients in LMG and 24 patients in USG had limited shoulder ROM, of which 6 was returned to normal values in LMG group and 12 in USG group at 6 week after injection (P<0.05).
                Our results indicate that the injection of corticosteroids to patients with shoulder pain due to soft tissue disorders under the USG-guidance may improve therapeutic effectiveness and reduce adverse effects.


Title 3:
Subacromial ultrasound guided or systemic steroid injection for rotator cuff disease: randomised double blind study.
Abstract 3:
To compare the effectiveness of ultrasound guided corticosteroid injection in the subacromial bursa with systemic corticosteroid injection in patients with rotator cuff disease.
                Double blind randomised clinical trial.
                Outpatient clinic of a physical medicine and rehabilitation department in Oslo, Norway. Patients 106 patients with rotator cuff disease lasting at least three months.
                Ultrasound guided corticosteroid and lidocaine injection in the subacromial bursa and lidocaine injection in the gluteal region (local group); corticosteroid and lidocaine injection in the gluteal region and ultrasound guided lidocaine injection in the subacromial bursa (systemic group).
                Difference in improvement in the overall shoulder pain and disability index score after six weeks.
                Six weeks after the intervention, the mean difference in improvement in overall shoulder pain and disability index score between the local group and the systemic group was -5.2 (95% confidence interval -13.9 to 3.5); it was -4.1 (-12.3 to 4.1, P=0.32) after adjustment for baseline score. A small but statistically significant difference in improvement between groups occurred in favour of the local group for two secondary outcome measures: the Western Ontario rotator cuff index (8.1, 0.7 to 15.6) and change in main complaint (2.0, 0 to 4).
                No important differences in short term outcomes were found between local ultrasound guided corticosteroid injection and systemic corticosteroid injection in rotator cuff disease.
                Clinical trials NCT00640575.


Title 4:
Randomized controlled trial for efficacy of intra-articular injection for adhesive capsulitis: ultrasonography-guided versus blind technique.
Abstract 4:
Lee H-J, Lim K-B, Kim D-Y, Lee K-T. Randomized controlled trial for efficacy of intra-articular injection for adhesive capsulitis: ultrasonography-guided versus blind technique.
                To evaluate the clinical effect of ultrasonography (US)-guided intra-articular injections compared with a blind (unguided) technique for the treatment of adhesive capsulitis.
                Randomized controlled trial.
                Outpatient rehabilitation clinic.
                Patients (N=43) diagnosed as having adhesive capsulitis after clinical examinations and radiologic and ultrasonographic study.
                Under either US-guided or a blind technique, patients received a 20-mg intra-articular injection of triamcinolone mixed with 1.5mL 2% lidocaine and 4mL normal saline in the first week followed by 5 weekly injections of sodium hyaluronate.
                A visual analog scale for pain intensity, range of motion (ROM) of the shoulder (flexion, abduction, external rotation, and internal rotation), and general shoulder function during daily activities at preinjection as a baseline and then every week after injection for 6 weeks for each patient.
                Twenty patients out of 22 in the blind injection group and 20 out of 21 in the US-guided group finished the entire 6-week study period. The improvement in pain intensity, ROM, and shoulder function score was significantly greater in the US-guided injection group than in the blind injection group by the second week postinjection (P<.05). However, there were no further significant differences in the improvement between the 2 groups beyond the third week.
                US-guided intra-articular injections may offer advantages over a blind technique for the treatment of adhesive capsulitis and may deliver clinical benefits during the first few weeks of treatment. This finding suggests that the improved targeting to the intra-articular space by using US can result in better treatment of adhesive capsulitis.


Title 5:
A randomized comparative study of short term response to blind injection versus sonographic-guided injection of local corticosteroids in patients with painful shoulder.
Abstract 5:
Local corticosteroid injections, commonly accepted by rheumatologists to be effective treating painful shoulder, have shown controversial results. High frequency ultrasonography is an accurate and safe imaging modality for guiding musculoskeletal injections. We prospectively compared the short term response to randomized blind injection versus sonographic-guided injection of local corticosteroid in patients with painful shoulder.
                We studied 41 consecutive patients with painful shoulder. Patients with previous trauma or chronic inflammatory arthritis were excluded. No patient had received previous physiotherapy or local steroid injection in the shoulder. Patients were randomized to receive either a blind subacromial injection of 20 mg triamcinolone (Group 1, n = 20) or a sonographic guided injection of 20 mg triamcinolone (Group 2, n = 21) by the same rheumatologist blinded to the clinical evaluation. In both groups we recorded shoulder abnormalities and the location of the steroid postinjection by ultrasound. Each patient was clinically assessed within 5 days before injection and 6 weeks after injection by another rheumatologist without knowledge of the injection technique performed. Clinical assessment included demographic and clinical data, a visual analog scale (VAS) for pain (0-100), the Shoulder Function Assessment (SFA) scale (0-70), and postinjection adverse effects. No patient received physical therapy during the followup period. Initially, demographic, clinical, and ultrasonographic findings in both groups showed no significant differences.
                Six weeks after injection, the VAS and the SFA score showed a significantly greater improvement in Group 2 compared with Group 1 (mean VAS score change 34.9 for Group 2 vs 7.1 for Group 1, p < 0.001; and mean SFA score change 15 for Group 2 vs 5.6 for Group 1, p = 0.012). One patient in Group 1 reported mild postinjection adverse effects.
                We suggest that sonographic-guided corticosteroid injections should be indicated, at least, in patients with poor response to previous blind injection to ensure accurate medication placement in order to improve therapeutic effectiveness.
Based upon moderate evidence from five trials, our review was unable to establish any advantage in terms of pain, function, shoulder range of motion or safety, of ultrasound-guided glucocorticoid injection for shoulder disorders over either landmark-guided or intramuscular injection. The lack of any added benefit of ultrasound guided subacromial bursal injection over glucocorticoid injection administered into the upper gluteal muscles of the buttock suggests that the benefits of glucocorticoid may arise through systemic rather than local effects. Therefore, although ultrasound guidance may improve the accuracy of injection to the putative site of pathology in the shoulder, it is not clear that this improves its efficacy to justify the significant added cost.