Background:

Shoulder dislocation is a common reason for admission in the emergency room. Its recurrence rate may be as high as 96% due to the associated bone lesions. The purpose of this study is to identify the underreporting of lesions comparing those identified in the initial X-ray with those identified in the post-reduction X-ray.

Material and methods:

X-rays of 46 patients with suspected anterior glenohumeral dislocation were assessed for diagnostic purposes and to identify the initial bone lesions. After patients had undergone reduction, post-reduction serial bone X-rays (AP, Stryker, Westpoint) were taken and analyzed looking for bone lesions that were initially missed.

Results:

Bone lesions were identified in 26.1% of the patients based on the initial AP X-rays. In 67.6% of the patients without a pre-reduction fracture a bone lesion was found in the post-reduction serial X-rays.

Conclusions:

The underreporting rate of bone lesions was 67.6% comparing the initial AP X-rays with the post-reduction serial bone X-rays.