Intra-articular injections are widely used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes of joint pathologies throughout the body. These injections can be performed blind by utilizing anatomical landmarks or with the use of imaging modalities to directly visualize the joint space during injections. This review of the literature aims to comprehensively identify differences in the accuracy of intra-articular injections via palpation vs. image guidance in the most commonly injected joints in the upper and lower extremities. To our knowledge, there are no such comprehensive reviews available. A narrative literature review was performed using PubMed and Google Scholar databases to identify studies focusing on the accuracy of blind or image-guided intra-articular injections for each joint. A total of 75 articles was included in this review, with blind and image-guided strategies being discussed for the most commonly injected joints of the upper and lower extremities. Varying ranges of accuracy with blind and image-guided modalities were found throughout the literature, though an improvement in accuracy was seen in nearly all joints when using image guidance. Differences are pronounced, particularly in deep joints such as the hip or in the small joints such as those in the hand or foot. Image guidance is a useful adjunct for most intra-articular injections, if available. Though there is an increase in accuracy in nearly all joints, minor differences in accuracy seen in large, easily accessed joints, such as the knee, may not warrant image guidance.

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Background: Resection of intramedullary spinal cord tumors (IMSCTs) in pediatric patients results in a high incidence of spinal deformity (i.e., kyphoscoliosis often requiring fusion). Here, a 6-year-old male underwent a spinal fusion to correct postlaminectomy thoracic kyphosis following resection of an IMSCT. Case Description: A 6-year-old male initially underwent multilevel thoracic laminectomies for resection of an IMSCT. Six months later, he presented with the onset of kyphoscoliosis. During adolescence he became increasingly paraparetic due to a thoracic kyphosis that had now progressed to 118°. He underwent a 360 decompression/fusion that included a T1-T9 laminectomy, a T5 to T11 anterior interbody arthrodesis/rib autograft, and posterolateral T2-T12 fusion/iliac crest autograft with Harrington rods placed from T5 to T12. Postoperative radiographs showed the thoracic kyphosis improved to 62°. However, 4.5 years later, X-rays showed the thoracic kyphosis newly progressed to 90° (i.e., from T3 to T12). Thirty-four years after this corrective surgery, he remained neurologically intact with only mild complaints of balance changes, and bladder/bowel urgency while radiographs confirmed continued stability. Further, the thoracic magnetic resonance imaging showed only chronic thoracic spine/cord changes. Conclusion: A 6-year-old child originally underwent a thoracic laminectomy for an IMSCT. As an adolescent, due to progressive postlaminectomy kyphosis, he underwent a successful secondary thoracic 360° decompression/ fusion. Notably, 34 years later, he did not require any surgical revision.