Ultrasound in the study of soft tissue infections

Abstract

Musculoskeletal ultrasound is a safe and easily accessible imaging technique that allows the study of suspected infections of the musculoskeletal system. Although no finding is specific to these types of processes, certain synovial characteristics may suggest an infectious process rather than a non-infectious inflammatory condition. The role of ultrasound in this group of diseases is also to facilitate the extraction of synovial fluid for microbiological study. Ultrasound-guided synovial tissue biopsy is a minimally invasive, feasible, safe, and well-tolerated procedure that provides high-quality tissue samples, enhancing diagnostic capabilities in cases of suspected infectious arthritis, especially when synovial fluid analysis is negative or inconclusive.