Presentation
Felt dizzy and fell. Unrelenting left shoulder pain with inability to move his upper arm, to rule out fracture/dislocation.
Patient Data
Initially reported as no acute bony injury and patient sent home with conservative management.
Patient re-presented with persistent left shoulder pain. A clear fracture through the inferior margin of the glenoid process.
Comminuted fracture through the inferior aspect of the left glenoid process. Degenerative changes at the insertion of the supraspinatus tendon. No Hill-Sachs defect.
A radiograph from more than 10 years earlier, nicely demonstrates the subtle change caused by the new injury to the inferior glenoid rim which was "erroneously" called normal on the presenting radiograph.
Case Discussion
No history of prior shoulder dislocation.
Unfortunately, errors are inevitable in radiology, a fact that all radiologists have to become accustomed to. Of course, this does not mean that one should not strive to minimize one's own errors. Recognizing one's personal blind spots, as well as using systematic reporting, structured reporting templates, double reporting, review areas, and so on are all effective tools to minimize discrepant reporting.
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.