title: Ultrasonography and arthrography in the diagnosis of tears of the rotator cuff.
abstract: The accuracy of ultrasonography and arthrography in the prediction of lesions of the rotator cuff was evaluated and compared with the operative findings in a retrospective study of forty-nine patients (forty-nine shoulders). In the detection of full-thickness (stage-III) tears of the rotator cuff, ultrasonography had an over-all sensitivity of 74 per cent, a specificity of 95 per cent, an accuracy of 84 per cent, a predictive value of a positive test of 95 per cent, and a predictive value of a negative test of 75 per cent. In contrast, arthrography demonstrated a sensitivity of 93 per cent, a specificity of 95 per cent, an accuracy of 94 per cent, a predictive value of a positive test of 96 per cent, and a predictive value of a negative test of 91 per cent. Ultrasonography could not reliably differentiate between partial (stage-II) and full-thickness (stage-III) tears. Lesions of the long head of the biceps brachii tendon were recorded by ultrasonography for twenty-two patients (45 per cent) and by arthrography for eleven patients (22 per cent). The ultrasonographic finding of fluid in the sheath of this tendon is not a reliable sign of a lesion in the tendon.
authors.affiliation: Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paavolainen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ahovuo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011859:Radiography; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017006:Rotator Cuff / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000070636:Rotator Cuff Injuries; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013708:Tendon Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D014463:Ultrasonography