Tietze's syndrome presenting as enthesitis diagnosed by ultrasound: A case report

Tietze's syndrome (TS) is an inflammatory disorder characterised by painful, non-suppurative swelling in the sternocostal or sternoclavicular joint. The aetiology of TS is unknown. Herein, we described a case of isolated enthesitis in the sternocostal joint in a 42-year-old male patient whose clinical course led to the diagnosis of TS. A 42-year-old male Japanese patient (HLA-B27 negative) presented with chronic anterior chest wall pain. Mild swelling and tenderness were found in the right, third sternocostal joint (rt.3STCJ). No other arthralgia was present. Ultrasonography (US) of the rt.3STCJ showed hypoechoic thickening and power Doppler signal in the anterior radiate sternocostal ligament with mild synovial hypertrophy of the STCJ. US also depicted cortical bone erosion at the sternum with neovascularisation. Magnetic resonance imaging with T2-weighted short-tau inversion recovery showed high signal intensity in the bone marrow of the sternum and adjacent soft tissue around the rt.3STCJ. Based on these findings, TS with the enthesitis in the rt.3STCJ was diagnosed. The patient received a US-guided corticosteroid injection, and the symptoms completely resolved 10 months later. Enthesitis may cause TS. US is a readily available, sensitive imaging technique useful for diagnosing TS.