Very Rapidly Progressive Shoulder Arthropathy with Complete Destruction of the Humeral Head

Abstract

Milwaukee shoulder syndrome (MSS) is a rare disease in which joints are destroyed and occurs mainly in elderly women. We describe rapidly progressive MSS with complete destruction of the shoulder joint within 2 months. An 80-year-old woman visited the outpatient clinic with shoulder pain for 2 weeks. rotator cuff tear arthropathy was diagnosed, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were prescribed. Two months later, her shoulder pain worsened without trauma. Shoulder swelling and tenderness, and arm lifting inability were observed. Complete humeral head disruption was observed by radiography. We diagnosed MSS based on the presence of serohematic and noninflammatory joint effusion, periarticular calcific deposits, and rapid joint destruction, and initiated conservative treatment. When initially treating elderly patients with shoulder arthropathy, it is advisable to perform short-term follow-up and to consider the possibility of crystal-induced arthropathy.