A clinical radiological and arthroscopic correlation in various shoulder pathologies: A prospective study

Abstract

Shoulder pain is one of the most common complaint in medical practice and often leads to significant disabilities. Spectrum of etiologies that can give rise to shoulder pain are acute trauma to a gamut of degenerative disorders. Objective: To evaluate clinical, radiological and arthroscopic correlation in various shoulder pathologies. To compare clinical findings with MRI findings of symptomatic shoulder. To compare clinical and MRI findings with arthroscopy. Material and Methods: This is a prospective study, which includes patients with various intra articular shoulder disorders symptoms. 12 patients who were received between October 2013 and September 2015, who were clinically diagnosed to have general shoulder pathology based on a positive Dugas test and or rotator cuff pathology, were evaluated with MRI and subsequently with diagnostic arthroscopy on the symptomatic shoulder. Results: Clinical examination found sensitivity of 78%, specificity of 67% for rotator cuff tears and MRI showed sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 67% for the same. The sensitivity of MRI is higher when compared to clinical examination. But specificity was found to be same due to small sample size. Glenohumeral instability lesions were found in 6 patients. SLAP lesion were found in 2 patients, Bankart in 3 patients, Hill Sachs in one patient. Clinical examination found sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 71% for glenohumeral instability and MRI showed sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 86%. The sensitivity and specificity of MRI is higher when compared to clinical examination. Conclusion: The sensitivity and specificity for all pathologies is higher for arthroscopy in our study as compared to clinical and MRI examinations, as is the observation of most workers in this field.