Features of Partial Rotator Cuff Tears Diagnostics

Abstract

Partial rotator cuff tears are the most common pathology of the shoulder joint. Diagnostic of such conditions is a challenging problem for trauma surgeon.Purpose of the study is to analyze the diagnostic significance of manual tests and the standard MRI of the shoulder joint.Materials and Methods. The study is a retrospective analysis of disease history data of 25 patients (15 males, 10 females) treated at the authors’ hospital during the period from 2014 to 2017. Examination was performed according to a standard protocol: assessment of shoulder range of motion, palpation, manual examination, including “full/empty can” test, a painful arc symptom and the Hawkins – Kennedy test. All patients underwent MRI of the shoulder joint. The mean age of patients was 50.8 years. Shoulder joint arthroscopic inspection was considered the gold standard for diagnostics.Results. After data analysis, the following results were obtained: sensitivity of the “full can” test was 68%, the accuracy was 68%; “empty can” test sensitivity and accuracy were 76%, respectively. MRI sensitivity for diagnostics of supraspinatus tendon ruptures was 84% with the accuracy of 84%. The combination of the Hawkins – Kennedy test with the symptom of painful arch demonstrated accuracy and sensitivity of 64%. The study evaluated the effectiveness of MRI for diagnostic of the rupture type: sensitivity for injury from the joint surface — 80%, from the subacromial space — 70%; specificity for ruptures from the articular surface — 90% and from the subacromial space — 93%. The accuracy was 84% for both types of ruptures.Conclusions. Combined application of manual tests and MRI of the shoulder joint allows to diagnose partial rotator cuff tears in the majority of cases.