Diagnostic Accuracy of History and Physical Examination of Superior Labrum Anterior-Posterior Lesions

Abstract

Type I superior labrum anterior-posterior (SLAP) lesions involve degenerative fraying and probably are not the cause of shoulder pain. Type II to IV SLAP lesions are tears of the labrum. To determine the diagnostic accuracy of patient history and the active compression, anterior slide, and crank tests for type I and type II to IV SLAP lesions. Cohort study. Clinic. Fifty-five patients (47 men, 8 women; age = 40.6 ± 15.1 years) presenting with shoulder pain. For each patient, an orthopaedic surgeon conducted a clinical examination of history of trauma; sudden onset of symptoms; history of popping, clicking, or catching; age; and active compression, crank, and anterior slide tests. The reference standard was the intraoperative diagnosis. The operating surgeon was blinded to the results of the clinical examination. Diagnostic utility was calculated using the receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (+LR), and negative likelihood ratio (-LR). Forward stepwise binary regression was used to determine a combination of tests for diagnosis. No history item or physical examination test had diagnostic accuracy for type I SLAP lesions (n = 13). The anterior slide test had utility (AUC = 0.70, +LR = 2.25, -LR = 0.44) to confirm and exclude type II to IV SLAP lesions (n = 10). The combination of a history of popping, clicking, or catching and the anterior slide test demonstrated diagnostic utility for confirming type II to IV SLAP lesions (+LR = 6.00). The anterior slide test had limited diagnostic utility for confirming and excluding type II to IV SLAP lesions; diagnostic values indicated only small shifts in probability. However, the combination of the anterior slide test with a history of popping, clicking, or catching had moderate diagnostic utility for confirming type II to IV SLAP lesions. No single item or combination of history items and physical examination tests had diagnostic utility for type I SLAP lesions.