Detection of rotator cuff tears: The value of MRI following ultrasound

Abstract

To evaluate the need for additional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) following ultrasound (US) in patients with shoulder pain and/or disability and to compare the accuracy of both techniques for the detection of partial-thickness and full-thickness rotator cuff tears (RCT).
In 4 years, 5,216 patients underwent US by experienced musculoskeletal radiologists. Retrospectively, patient records were evaluated if MRI and surgery were performed within 5 months of US. US and MRI findings were classified into intact cuff, partial-thickness and full-thickness RCT, and were correlated with surgical findings.
Additional MR imaging was performed in 275 (5.2%) patients. Sixty-eight patients underwent surgery within 5 months. US and MRI correctly depicted 21 (95%) and 22 (100%) of the 22 full-thickness tears, and 8 (89%) and 6 (67%) of the 9 partial-thickness tears, respectively. The differences in performance of US and MRI were not statistically significant (p = 0.15).
MRI following routine shoulder US was requested in only 5.2% of the patients. The additional value of MRI was in detecting intra-articular lesions. In patients who underwent surgery, US and MRI yielded comparably high sensitivity for detecting full-thickness RCT. US performed better in detecting partial-thickness tears, although the difference was not significant.

Full text

Eur Radiol (2010) 20: 450–457
DOI 10.1007/s00330-009-1561-9 MUSCULOSKELETAL
Matthieu J. C. M. Rutten
Gert-Jan Spaargaren
Ton van Loon
Maarten C. de Waal Malefijt
Lambertus A. L. M. Kiemeney
Gerrit J. Jager
Received: 13 February 2009
Revised: 8 July 2009
Accepted: 22 July 2009
Published online: 2 September 2009
#The Author(s) 2009.
This article is published with open access at
Springerlink.com
Detection of rotator cuff tears: the value
of MRI following ultrasound
Abstract Objective: To evaluate
the need for additional magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) following
ultrasound (US) in patients with
shoulder pain and/or disability and to
compare the accuracy of both techni-
ques for the detection of partial-
thickness and full-thickness rotator
cuff tears (RCT). Methods: In
4 years, 5,216 patients underwent US
by experienced musculoskeletal radi-
ologists. Retrospectively, patient re-
cords were evaluated if MRI and
surgery were performed within
5 months of US. US and MRI
findings were classified into intact
cuff, partial-thickness and full-thick-
ness RCT, and were correlated with
surgical findings. Results: Addi-
tional MR imaging was performed in
275 (5.2%) patients. Sixty-eight pa-
tients underwent surgery within
5 months. US and MRI correctly
depicted 21 (95%) and 22 (100%) of
the 22 full-thickness tears, and 8
(89%) and 6 (67%) of the 9 partial-
thickness tears, respectively. The dif-
ferences in performance of US and
MRI were not statistically significant
(p=0.15). Conclusions: MRI fol-
lowing routine shoulder US was
requested in only 5.2% of the patients.
The additional value of MRI was in
detecting intra-articular lesions. In
patients who underwent surgery, US
and MRI yielded comparably high
sensitivity for detecting full-thickness
RCT. US performed better in detect-
ing partial-thickness tears, although
the difference was not significant.
Keywords Musculoskeletal .
Shoulder .Rotator cuff tear .US .
MRI
Introduction
Both ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) can confirm a suspected partial-thickness or full-
thickness rotator cuff tear. Both techniques have their
advantages and disadvantages, and can be competitive and
complementary at the same time. Factors of consideration
concerning which technique should be used are availability
of the test in a timely manner and the skill of the operators
in carrying out and interpreting a given examination. In the
M. J. C. M. Rutten (*).
G.-J. Spaargaren .G. J. Jager
Department of Radiology,
Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis,
Nieuwstraat 34,
5211
NL’s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
e-mail: M.Rutten@JBZ.nl
Tel.: +31-73-6992000
Fax: +31-73-6992601
G.-J. Spaargaren
e-mail: g.spaargaren@jbz.nl
G. J. Jager
e-mail: g.jager@jbz.nl
T. van Loon
Department of Orthopedic Surgery,
Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis,
Nieuwstraat 34,
5211
NL’s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
e-mail: t.v.loon@jbz.nl
M. C. de Waal Malefijt
Department of Orthopedic Surgery,
Radboud University Nijmegen Medical
Centre,
Th. Craanenlaan 7,
6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
e-mail: m.dewaalmalefijt@orthop.
umcn.nl
L. A. L. M. Kiemeney
Department of Epidemiology and
Biostatistics & HTA, Radboud
University Nijmegen Medical Centre,
Geert Grooteplein Noord 21,
P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB
Nijmegen, The Netherlands
e-mail: b.kiemeney@epib.umcn.nl

literature the question which test constitutes the most
accurate, cost effective, expedient or least invasive ap-
proach to the diagnosis of rotator cuff tears is still
controversial. The question as to which is the best test
should be answered on the basis of clinical experience,
availability, and the expected sensitivity and specificity of
the tests.
Although many investigators have evaluated the accu-
racy of US or MRI separately for the detection of partial-
thickness (PTT) and full-thickness (FTT) rotator cuff tears,
some have directly compared the two tests for the detection
of full-thickness tears [1,2], partial-thickness tears [3]or
partial-thickness and full-thickness tears [4–10], but most
with a relatively small number of patients [8–10].
In a systematic review of the diagnostic accuracy of
clinical examinations with US and MRI in the detection of
full-thickness and partial-thickness rotator cuff tears,
Dinnes et al. [11] showed that US and MRI have
comparably high accuracy for the detection of full-
thickness tears. Based on the available literature, US is
the method of first choice in the detection of rotator cuff
tears in our hospital. In the case of unequivocal findings or
clinical doubt, additional MRI is requested.
The purpose of this study was first to evaluate the need
for additional MRI following US of the shoulder and
secondly to evaluate and compare the accuracy of US and
MRI for the detection of partial-thickness and full-
thickness rotator cuff tears with surgery as the reference
standard in a selected group of patients.
Materials and methods
Patients
The inclusion criteria for this retrospective study were: (1)
shoulder pain and/or disability for which the patients
underwent plain radiography and US, (2) an additional
MRI was performed and (3) subsequent surgery was
carried out. The indications to perform MRI following US
were suspicion for having intraarticular pathology (n=94),
inconclusive US examination due limited shoulder motion,
obesity or undefined findings (n=25), discrepancy between
clinical and US findings (n=77), and finally as a request for
more diagnostic certainty (n=18), and of the remaining
patients (n=61), the indication to perform MRI could not
be determined. Patients were excluded when no surgery
was performed and when the time intervals between US
and MRI and/or US and surgery exceeded 5 months.
The study was performed in one tertiary teaching
hospital. Between January 2004 and December 2007,
5,216 patients with shoulder pain and/or disability were
referred by the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery or
general practitioners and underwent US. Eighty-one were
operated upon without MRI. Two hundred seventy-five
patients (147 men and 128 women, with a mean age of
47 years, range 18–87 years) also underwent MRI of the
shoulder, and 80 of the 275 patients subsequently had
surgery. Twelve patients were excluded because the time
interval between US and MRI or surgery exceeded
5 months. The remaining 68 patients (37 men and 31
women, with a mean age of 48 years, range 24–81 years)
formed the study group whose data were analysed
retrospectively.
Patients were evaluated for the presence of rotator cuff
tears. Findings were classified into intact cuff, partial-
thickness and full-thickness rotator cuff tears, and
correlated with surgical findings, which were considered
the gold standard. The time interval between the US
examination and MRI ranged from 0 to 98 days (mean
41 days). The time interval between US examination and
surgery ranged from 5 to 147 days (mean 99 days) and
between MRI and surgery 5 to 139 days (mean 59 days).
Ultrasound
All US examinations were performed by two musculo-
skeletal radiologists (MR, GJ), using a APLIO device
(Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Tokyo, Japan)
with a 7.5–14-MHz linear array transducer (PLF-805ST).
Real-time imaging of the shoulder was performed in a
standardised fashion as described in the literature [12].
Established criteria were used for the diagnosis of a partial-
thickness or full-thickness rotator cuff tear [13–15].
Magnetic resonance imaging
All MRI examinations were performed with an 1.5-T MR
system (Signa Horizon, GE, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The
Netherlands). Of the 80 patients, 34 patients underwent
MR arthrography (MRA) and 46 patients conventional
MRI. The conventional MRI shoulder protocol consisted of
oblique coronal T2-weighted with fat suppression
(2.48 min) and T1-weighted turbo spin echo images
(5.58 min), oblique sagittal T2-weighted turbo spin echo
images without fat suppression (2.36 min) and transverse
T1-weighted turbo spin echo images (4.52 min). A field of
view of 16 cm was used, the slice thickness was 3 mm, the
imaging matrix was 320×224, and three signals were
averaged for each pulse sequence.
The MRA protocol consisted of 3D-gradient T1-
weighted (SPGR) oblique coronal and axial images
(5 min), which were reconstructed, if indicated, in any
other desired plane. SPGR 3D imaging (TR: 51 ms; TE:
7 ms; 1 acquisition; 256×256 matrix; FOV: 22 cm, slice
thickness 2.8 mm) with 2.8-mm consecutive slices was
used, and coronal T2-weighted turbo spin echo images
(2.30 min), sagittal T2-weighted turbo spin echo images
(2.40 min) and the ABER view with coronal T1-weighted
turbo spin echo images with fat suppression (4.15 min).
451

Overall MRA imaging time was 19 min 30 s.
The MRI examinations were blinded and retrospectively
evaluated by the same experienced musculoskeletal
radiologists (MR, GJ) who performed the US examina-
tions, at a later date, to avoid any effect on the interpre-
tation of findings at MRI by the recent ultrasound
examination. This set-up was chosen to exclude the
potential bias of having readers with a different level of
knowledge of anatomy and pathological features of the
shoulder.
Established criteria were used for the diagnosis of a
partial-thickness or full-thickness rotator cuff tear [16–19].
An example of a full-thickness rotator cuff tear as
demonstrated by US and MRI is shown in Fig. 1.
Surgery
In all study subjects, surgery (arthroscopy or open) was
performed by a subspecialty-trained shoulder surgeon, who
was aware of the US and MRI findings. The presence or
absence of a partial-thickness or full-thickness rotator cuff
tears and intraarticular lesions were recorded.
Statistical analysis
Using cross tabulations, the presence or absence of a
partial-thickness or full-thickness rotator cuff tear was
compared among US, MRI and surgery. Based on the
tables, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, the positive pre-
dictive value and the negative predictive value were
calculated.
The agreement between the results of US and MRI in the
detection of rotator cuff tears was determined by calculat-
ing a kappa coefficient. Differences in scoring between US
and MRI were tested for statistical significance using a
marginal homogeneity test (or McNemar-Bowker test) for
related samples. All statistical analyses were performed
using SPSS, version 14.0.2 for Windows (Chicago, IL).
Results
At surgery, 22 full-thickness and 9 partial-thickness rotator
cuff tears were found (Table 1). US correctly depicted 29
(94%) of the 31 rotator cuff tears: 21 (95%) of the 22 full-
thickness tears and 8 (89%) of the 9 partial-thickness tears
Fig. 1 Full-thickness rotator
cuff tear. (a) Ultrasound ap-
pearance of a full-thickness tear
(arrows) at the insertion of the
supraspinatus tendon (SSP).
GT = greater tuberosity. (b) The
corresponding oblique coronal
gradient T1-weighted MR
arthrography image, showing
the same configuration of the
full-thickness tear (arrows) of
the supraspinatus tendon (SSP).
GT = greater tuberosity
Table 1 Correlation of US and MRI findings with surgical diagnoses of partial-thickness (PTT) and full-thickness (FTT) rotator cuff tears
Ultrasound Magnetic resonance imaging**
No tear PTT FTT Total No tear PTT FTT Total
Surgical diagnoses
No tear 24 11 2 37 26 8 3 37
PTT 0 8 1 9 2 6 1 9
FTT 0 1 21 22 0 0 22 22
Total 24 20 24 68 28 14 26 68
Accuracy 53/68 (78%)* [66%-87%] 54/68 (79%)* [68%-88%]
Specificity 24/37 (65%)* [47%-80%] 26/37 (70%)* [53%-84%]
*The exact 95% confidence interval is given between brackets
**MRI and MR arthrography
452

(Tables 1and 2). MRI correctly depicted 28 (90%) of the
31 rotator cuff tears: all 22 (100%) full-thickness tears and
6 (67%) of the 9 partial-thickness tears (Tables 1and 2).
The overall accuracy of US and MRI in diagnosing full-
thickness and partial-thickness tears and intact rotator cuffs
(Table 1) was 78% (53/68) and 79% (54/68) with a 95%
confidence interval of 66%-87% and 68%-88%, and an
overall specificity of 65% (24/37) and 70% (26/37),
respectively.
Table 2lists the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and
positive and negative predictive values for both diagnostic
imaging techniques in the detection of partial-thickness and
full-thickness rotator cuff tears. The agreement between
US and MRI was high: the kappa coefficient was calculated
to be 0.78 (SE=0.06) (Table 3). The differences in the
scoring between the two diagnostic tests were not
statistically significant: the marginal homogeneity test
was 0.15, suggesting that the two tests have comparable
diagnostic value.
For the detection of full-thickness rotator cuff tears with
US and MRI (Fig. 1), there was a high degree of sensitivity,
specificity and accuracy (95%, 93%, 94% for US and
100%, 91%, 94% for MRI, respectively). The full-
thickness rotator cuff tears varied in size from 0.5 to
3.0 cm. US and MRI showed three and four false-positive
full-thickness tears, respectively (Table 1). US showed one
false-negative study (Fig. 2). In this case MRI showed a
full-thickness tear, which was proven surgically, whereas
with US it was identified as an extended (>50%) partial-
thickness rotator cuff tear (Fig. 2).
For the detection of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears,
there was a comparable diagnostic value for US and MRI
with a specificity and accuracy of 80%, 81% and 86%,
84%, respectively. The sensitivity of US (89%) for the
detection of partial-thickness tears seems to be a little better
than that of MRI (67%), but these percentages are based on
only nine cases, and the difference is not significant. These
partial rotator cuff tears were located superficially, at the
articular side (n=8) and bursal side (n=1). Both US and
MRI incorrectly overestimated one partial-thickness tear as
a full-thickness rotator cuff tear (Table 1). With conven-
tional MRI, two partial-thickness tears were incorrectly
underestimated as no tear (Fig. 3).
Surgery demonstrated no rotator cuff tears in 37 shoulders
(Table 4). US and MRI correctly demonstrated no tears in
24 and 26 shoulders, respectively (Table 4). However, US
and MRI suggested 2 and 3 full-thickness and 11 and 8
partial-thickness rotator cuff tears in the remaining 15 and 13
shoulders, respectively, which were not confirmed by surgery.
Table 2 The diagnostic parameters of US and MRI for the diagnosis of partial-thickness (PTT) and full-thickness (FTT) rotator cuff tears
Ultrasound Magnetic resonance imaging**
PTT FTT PTT FTT
Sensitivity 8/9 21/22 6/9 22/22
89%* [52%-100%] 95% [77%-100%] 67% [30%-93%] 100% [85%-100%]
Specificity 47/59 43/46 51/59 42/46
80% [67%-89%] 93% [82%-99%] 86% [75%-94%] 91% [79%-98%]
Accuracy 55/68 64/68 57/68 64/68
81% [70%-89%] 94% [86%-98%] 84% [73%-92%] 94% [86%-98%]
PPV 8/20 21/24 6/14 22/26
40% [19%-64%] 88 [68%-97%] 43% [18%-71%] 85% [65%-96%]
NPV 47/48 43/44 51/54 42/42
98% [89%-100%] 98% [88%-100%] 94% [85%-99%] 100% [92%-100%]
*The 95% confidence interval is given between brackets
**MRI and MR arthrography
PPV: positive predictive value (PPV), NPV: negative predictive value (NPV), PTT: partial-thickness rotator cuff tears, FTT: full-thickness
rotator cuff tears
Table 3 Agreement between ultrasound and MRI findings for the
diagnosis of rotator cuff tears
Magnetic resonance imaging diagnosis**
No tear PTT FTT
Ultrasound diagnosis
No tear 22 2 0
PTT 7 12 1
FTT 0 0 24
Kappa*: 0.78 (0.06)
Marginal homogeneity test
†
: p= 0.15
*Agreement between US and MRI. The standard error is given in
parenthesis
**MRI and MR arthrography
†
Test for significant differences between the two techniques
PTT: partial-thickness rotator cuff tears, FTT: full-thickness rotator
cuff tears
453

In 7 cases both US (7/11) and MRI (7/8) demonstrated a
false-positive PTT (Fig. 4). In five of these cases, the PTT
was located intratendinously (Fig. 4) and two at the
articular site near to the insertion of the supraspinatus
tendon. In four other false-positive PTT cases, US demon-
strated a PTT, whereas MRI and surgery did not. In three of
these cases MRI demonstrated signal distortion in the
tendon, which was interpreted as tendinosis. In one of the
eight false-positive cases with MRI, US as well as surgery
was negative. Retrospective analyses of the MRI findings
are more suggestive of tendinosis than of PTT.
In the two cases in which US identified an FTT and
surgery demonstrated no tear, MRI also identified a FTT. In
one case US and MRI showed an FTT, whereas surgery
showed a PTT (Table 1). In three cases MRI demonstrated
an FTT, while surgery showed no tear; US showed in two
cases an FTT as well, but no tear in the other case (Table 3).
In seven patients MRI changed the surgical strategy
because in six patients a labral tear and in one patient a
glenohumeral ligament tear was found.
Discussion
In the present study we compared the accuracy of US and
MRI in the detection of rotator cuff tears in patients who
underwent both imaging techniques. In our institution,
US is the method of choice in evaluating patients with
shoulder complaints. As in other countries, the use of US
has increased significantly [20]. In our study the use of
US obviates the need for further imaging in 95% of the
cases.
The high lifetime prevalence of shoulder pain of 66%
[21] and the moderate reliability and reproducibility of
clinical history and clinical examination may be an
explanation for the large number of US examinations. In
this study we focussed on the presence or absence of rotator
cuff tears. Other diagnoses that are often made with US,
e.g., subacromial bursitis and impingement syndrome,
were not evaluated. The combination of clinical history,
clinical examination and ultrasound fulfil the need for
diagnostic certainty and permit the initiation of therapy in
most cases. The disadvantage of the liberal use of US may
be a large number of negative findings as was an additional
finding of our study, because the indication to perform US
of the shoulder was shoulder pain and/or disability instead
of suspicion for having a rotator cuff tear. Another
disadvantage could be a large number of false-positive
findings, as there is a chance of up to 50% of finding
abnormalities in an asymptomatic shoulder [22]. Therefore,
good clinical examination remains of utmost importance in
the evaluation of patients with shoulder complaints.
Fig. 2 Sonographically underestimated full-thickness rotator cuff
tear. Long (a) and short (b) axis ultrasound section showing an
intratendinous partial-thickness tear (arrows) at the insertion of the
supraspinatus tendon (SSP). GT = greater tuberosity, H = humeral
head. (c) The corresponding oblique coronal gradient T1-weighted
MR arthrography image, showing the same intratendinous extending
tear (arrows) of the supraspinatus tendon (SSP), but also leakage of
intraarticularly injected contrast media to the subacromial–subdel-
toid bursa (arrowheads), suggestive of a full-thickness SSP tear,
which was surgically confirmed. GT = greater tuberosity
Fig. 3 Partial-thickness rotator
cuff tear in the supraspinatous
tendon (SSP) underestimated
with conventional MRI. (a) Ul-
trasound showed an intratendi-
nous partial-thickness tear
(arrow) in the insertion (i.e., at
the footprint) of the SSP, which
was confirmed surgically. (b)
The corresponding oblique co-
ronal T2-weighted fat saturated
MR image shows high signal in
the SSP, which was wrongly
interpreted as tendinosis. GT =
greater tuberosity
454

Another purpose of this retrospective study was to
evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of US in cases in which
additional MRI was requested and to compare these two
techniques.
US and MRI findings were compared with surgical
findings and appeared comparably accurate in diagnosing
full-thickness tears (94% and 94%, respectively) and less,
but also comparably accurate for the detection of partial-
thickness tears (81% and 84%, respectively). Our findings
substantiate those reported by Dinnes et al. [11] and Teefey
et al. [9], who showed that US and MRI have comparable
accuracy for identifying partial-thickness and full-thick-
ness rotator cuff tears. Although Teefey et al. [9] performed
a prospective study, while we retrospectively analysed
findings in a more diverse patient population from daily
practice, both studies show that MRI of the shoulder
provides, with regard to the rotator cuff, little additional
information following an US examination. However, in our
selected study group in 7 (10%) of the 68 patients MRI
detected intraarticular pathology, which changed the ther-
apy strategy. Furthermore, for some surgeons MRI may
have additional value to assess fatty infiltration of the
rotator cuff; however, we agree with others that US can
depict fatty infiltration and atrophy of the rotator cuff as
reliably as MRI [23,24]. Although it is known that US and
MRI have comparable accuracy for identifying and
measuring the size of full-thickness and partial-thickness
rotator cuff tears [9], MRI may be used to define the precise
location and extent of a rotator cuff tear; however, this was
not the case in our series.
There are several limitations of our study. A potential
drawback is the operator dependency of US [25–27] and
MRI [16,28]. In an unpublished study we evaluated the
learning curve and the interobserver variability of US in a
series of 200 patients. If US was performed in a
standardised manner, the interobserver agreement was
excellent. The kappa coefficient was calculated to be 0.80
(SE=0.05).
Furthermore, the study design was prone to bias. For
example, the study population of the 207 patients who
underwent US and MRI but did not undergo surgery
probably differs from the 68 patients who were operated
upon (selection bias). On the other hand, the agreement
between US and MRI in the group of 207 patients was
86%, approximately similar to that in the group of 68
patients (85%), indicating that the result of our study was
not biased by this selection.
Also, a verification or workup bias was present because
imaging findings were known by the surgeon and
influenced the decision whether or not to treat surgically
and thus influenced patient selection. Preoperative knowl-
edge of the imaging results caused diagnostic review bias,
Fig. 4 False-positive partial-
thickness rotator cuff tear in the
supraspinatous tendon (SSP).
Both ultrasound (a) and the
corresponding oblique coronal
T2-weighted fat saturated MR
image (b), show an undersurface
partial-thickness tear (arrow)
in the insertion (i.e., at the
footprint) of the SSP.
However, this finding was not
confirmed during surgery.
GT = greater tuberosity
Table 4 Correlation of US and MRI findings with surgical diagnosis of rotator cuff tears overall
Ultrasound diagnosis Magnetic resonance imaging diagnosis**
No tear RC tear No tear RC tear Total
Surgical diagnosis
No tear 24 13 26 11 37
RC tear 0 31 2 29 31
Total 24 44 28 40 68
Accuracy 55/68 (81%)* [70%-89%] 55/68 (81%)* [70%-89%]
*The 95% confidence interval is given between brackets
**MRI and MR arthrography
RC tear: Partial-thickness and full-thickness rotator cuff (RC) tears considered as tears
455

as a result of a more thorough exploration of the cuff in
order to find a RCT identified using US or MRI, which of
course influences the gold standard.
The value of MRI as a follow-up examination is
probably underestimated due to the low threshold to
request US and consequently overuse of US.
Finally, there is an imperfect standard bias, which occurs
when the reference standard is not 100% accurate. In our
opinion the so-called gold standard is such a potential
cause of bias. Waldt et al. [29] showed that the diagnosis of
small partial-thickness tears are restricted because of
difficulties in the differentiation among fibre tearing,
tendinitis, synovitic changes and superficial fraying at
tendon margins. Interobserver variability is also introduced
by varying definitions and/or synonyms used by both
sonologists and surgeons. Kuhn et al. [30] showed that six
currently described rotator cuff classification systems have
demonstrated little interobserver agreement among experi-
enced shoulder surgeons. In our experience in these studies
the ‘gold standard’was more a ‘silver handicap’, especially
with regard to the detection of partial-thickness rotator cuff
tears (Fig. 4). When we assume that the seven cases in
which both US and MRI showed a non-surgically proven
PTT were true-positives, then the sensitivity, specificity,
accuracy, PPV and NPV of US would increase to 94%,
90%, 91%, 75%, 98%, and those of MRI to 81%, 98%,
94%, 93%, 94%, respectively, which is almost as good as
the accuracy for diagnosing full-thickness rotator cuff
tears. The imperfect standard bias may cause an under-
estimation of the reported accuracy for diagnosing partial-
thickness rotator cuff tears with US and MRI.
At the RSNA meeting of 2008 a special focus session
was dedicated to the question “Musculoskeletal US: Has
the Time Come?”We have demonstrated that diagnostic
US of the shoulder in patients with periarticular complaints
in our institution performed by a radiologist fulfils the
clinical need for diagnosis and further management. We are
of the opinion that if musculoskeletal radiologists ignore
increasing requests for US of the shoulder, these examina-
tions will soon be performed by rheumatologists [27,31],
orthopaedic surgeons [32–34], physiotherapists or family
physicians who have been reported to be able to
performing US of the shoulder equally well.
In summary, in patients with periarticular shoulder pain,
US is a reliable diagnostic tool that obviates the need for
further imaging in most cases. Our study established that
US and MRI yield comparably high sensitivity, diagnostic
accuracy and positive predictive value in detecting full-
thickness rotator cuff tears. In detecting partial-thickness
rotator cuff tears both tests are less accurate; however, US
appears to be more sensitive than MRI.
Finally, following US of the shoulder performed by a
dedicated radiologist, MRI offers little additional value, with
regard to the detection of rotator cuff tears. Of course local
setting and other factors such as equipment availability,
personal expertise and preference, patient preference [35]
and cost effectiveness [36] may play a role in choosing which
imaging technique will be used.
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the
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permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
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