Adhesive capsulitis — SCE Rheumatology MCQ

Instant feedback + full explanation. One question, done properly.

EasyOsteoarthritis and soft tissue rheumatologyAdhesive capsulitisSCE Rheumatology

A 69-year-old woman has progressive shoulder pain and stiffness over 4 months. Examination shows active and passive external rotation are restricted. Investigations show plain radiograph is normal. The admitting team asks which diagnosis best explains the whole presentation. What is the most likely diagnosis?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: E — Adhesive capsulitis

Adhesive capsulitis is the best answer because the pattern described is most consistent with Adhesive capsulitis, including the distribution of symptoms and the targeted investigation results. SLE is a plausible distractor, but it does not account for the key discriminator in the stem. Systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis and Systemic sclerosis would be more appropriate in a different clinical pattern or at another point in the pathway, while Enthesitis-related arthritis is suboptimal for this presentation. Clinical pearl: in SCE-style questions, the decisive clue is usually the pattern across joints, extra-articular features and targeted immunology rather than a single antibody result.

Reference: NICE NG226; NICE CKS musculoskeletal topics