A Retrospective Comparison of the Efficacy of Embolization with Imipenem/Cilastatin and Microspheres in the Management of Chronic Shoulder Pain

Purpose To compare the efficacy of embolization with imipenem/cilastatin and microspheres in chronic shoulder pain. Methods This retrospective study included 29 patients who underwent embolization for chronic shoulder pain between June 2017 and March 2022 with calibrated MSs from 100 to 250 µm or IMP/CS. The main objective was the clinical success evaluated by the Minimum Clinically Important Difference (MCID) at 3 months after the procedure, validated if the patient responded yes to 2 questions: (1) Is the pain less severe than before the procedure? (2) Are you satisfied with the procedure? The decrease in visual analogue pain scale scores and the safety of the procedure were evaluated. Results Embolization was achieved in all patients. In the MS group, 4/15 patients (26.7%) experienced clinical success at 3 months according to MCID versus 10/14 patients (71.4%) in the IMP/CS group ( p = 0.02). The mean VAS decreases were respectively − 28.6% ± 34.6 in the MS group and − 36.8% ± 27.8 in the IMP/CS group at 1 month ( p = 0.50), − 29.9% ± 29.0 and − 39.6% ± 23.0 at 3 months ( p = 0.33) and − 30.6% ± 32.8 and − 46.6% ± 28.4 at 6 months after the procedure ( p = 0.26). Eleven patients (73.3%) in the MS group and 3 patients (21.4%) in the IMP/CS group had complications ( p = 0.01). Among them, 2/15 patients (13.3%) had transient skin ischaemia in the MS group. Conclusion Embolization with IMP/CS may be more effective and safer than MSs in the management of chronic shoulder pain.