Correlation between MRI and diagnostic arthroscopy in shoulder injuries

Abstract

Background: Shoulder injuries tend to present mainly as pain and often leads to considerable disability. It is essential that a diagnosis of the shoulder pathology is made and treatment started immediately to attain prompt recovery and avoid chronicity and complications. The current gold standard diagnostic investigation is arthroscopy. MRI is a proven sensitive and accurate non-invasive tool for detecting internal derangement and assessing overall joint structures, but many studies have reported false positive and negative results. The aim of the study is to compare the accuracy of the two Diagnostic Modalities, Arthroscopy and MRI, in bony and ligamentous structure injury of the shoulder joint. Methods: Twenty one cases of the age group 18-60 years presenting with shoulder pain following injury were included in our study, where MRI was performed followed by Arthroscopy. The data were analyzed for sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value and the correlation between MRI and Arthroscopy is done with the help of these statistics. Results: In the study highest sensitivity was found in full-thickness Supraspinatus tear, Bankart’s lesion and Hill-Sachs lesion. The highest specificity and highest positive predictive value was found in Impingement syndrome, full thickness supraspinatus tear, Hill-Sachs lesion and Adhesive capsulitis. The highest negative predictive value was found in full-thickness supraspinatus tear, Bankart’s lesion and Hill-Sachs lesion. Conclusion: MRI is an accurate, practical, efficient, non-invasive diagnostic modality in shoulder injuries, specially in conditions like full- thickness supraspinatus tear, impingement syndrome, Hill-Sachs lesion and Bankart’s lesion.