Comparative Study of MR-arthrography and Arthroscopy in Partial Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears

Kwon,  Oh Soo; Park,  Sang Eun; Shin,  Eun Su

doi:2009.12.1.38

Clin Shoulder Elb > Volume 12(1); 2009 > Article

Comparative Study

Journal of the Korean Shoulder and Elbow Society 2009;12(1):38-43.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5397/CiSE.2009.12.1.038 Published online June 30, 2009.

Comparative Study of MR-arthrography and Arthroscopy in Partial Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears

Oh Soo Kwon, Sang Eun Park, Eun Su Shin

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea. oskn@catholic.ac.kr

회전근 개 부분 파열에서 자기공명 관절조영술과 관절경 소견의 비교 연구

권오수·박상은·신은수

가톨릭대학교 의과대학 정형외과학교실 대전성모병원

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of MR arthrography to detect partial thickness rotator cuff tears. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and seventy seven patients with a high suspicion for rotator cuff disease were studied by performing MR-arthrography and subsequent arthroscopy. The ability of MRarthrography to detect partial thickness tears was evaluated according to the location of the tears. We determined the correspondence between the measurements of the articular side partial tears on MR arthrography and those on the arthroscopic findings.
RESULTS
The arthroscopic diagnosis of partial thickness rotator cuff tears was divided into 3 groups according to their location. There were 63 cases on the articular side, 41 cases on the bursal side and 20 cases on both sides. The sensitivity of MR-arthrography was 82% for the articular side tears and 11% for the bursal tears. The specificity was 88% for the articular side tears and 100% for the bursal tears. MRarthrographic measurement correctly predicted 72% in 28 repaired cases of 56 articular side partial thickness tears.
CONCLUSIONS
MR-arthrography may be a reliable tool for diagnosing articular side partial thickness rotator cuff tears, but it has limitations for bursal side tears.

Key Words: MR-arthrography; Arthroscopy; Partial thickness tear; Rotator cuff