Value and Limitation of MR Imaging in Diagnosis of Rotator Cuff Tears

• Published in: Orthopedics & Traumatology Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 126 - 128
• Main Authors: Tomonaga, Tadashi, Ito, Nobuyuki, Eto, Masao, Shindo, Hiroyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: West-Japanese Society of Orthopedics & Traumatology 1999
• Subjects: MR imaging; Rotator cuff tear; T2_??_-weighted imaging
• ISSN: 0037-1033; 1349-4333
• DOI: 10.5035/nishiseisai.48.126

We studied the accuracy of MRI in the rotator cuff tear. We also compared the MRI findings and operative findings in the assessment of the size of the rotator cuff tear. 91 patients who underwent MRI investigation before the operation were chosen for this study. Rotator cuff tear was diagnosed by T2_??_ images. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, false positive value and false negative value for complete tears were: 92%, 95%, 92%, 5%, and 8%, respectively: for incomplete tear: 92%, 90%, 90%, 10%, and 8%, respectively. A linear regression analysis showed an excellent correlation between the MRI assessment and the size of the complete tear revealed at operation. We concluded that MRI assessment is useful for the rotator cuff tear. However, in certain cases, it is hard to differentiate incomplete tears from very small complete ones and the degenerative change of the rotator cuff.