ObjectivesTo systematically review the clinical efficacy of ultrasound-guided percutaneous lavage (UGPL) for calcifying tendinitis of rotator cuff.MethodsPubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, WanFang Data, CBM, VIP and CNKI databases were electronically searched to collect the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of ultrasound-guided percutaneous irrigation for calcifying tendinitis of rotator cuff from inception to September 2017. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 7 RCTs involving 587 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: there were significant differences between the UGPL group and extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) group in 12-month follow-up visual analogue scale (VAS) (MD=–1.96, 95%CI –2.18 to –1.75, P<0.000 01), the average particle size of the calcium deposition (MD=–3.13, 95%CI –5.05 to –1.22,P<0.001), the calcification disappearance rate (RR=1.65, 95%CI 1.36 to 2.01,P<0.000 01). However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in 6-week follow-up VAS (MD=–0.85, 95%CI –2.84 to 1.14,P=0.40), and the complications (RR=1.20, 95%CI 0.03 to 49.69, P=0.93).ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that UGPL has certain clinical effect for the calcifying tendinitis of rotator cuff. Compared with ESWT, UGPL may be superior in clinical pain relief and calcification clearance. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify above conclusions.