Joints and needles: summary of radiosynoviorthesis.

Radiosynoviorthesis is a minimally invasive treatment for inflammatory joint disorders. It is an alternative to surgical synovectomy and is used when systemic treatment and intraarticular glucocorticosteroid injections have failed. This literature review summarizes the effectiveness of this method in various inflammatory joint disorders. A systematic literature search was performed in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and DOAJ databases. Depending on the type of inflammation and level of joint destruction, the effectiveness of therapy is 50-80%, up to even 90-100% in hemarthrosis. The present study demonstrates that the therapy is safe, with almost no side-effects. It provides long-term cost-effectiveness for patients due to its ambulatory characteristics, does not require rehabilitation, and leads to reduced use of other therapies. Moreover, it may be used as an independent type of therapy as well as a part of complex treatment. Given its benefits, the method should be considered by specialists of various fields.