[Sources of error in sonographic diagnosis of the rotator cuff]

Sonography of the shoulder joint has developed into an established examination technique in the diagnosis of periarticular lesions of the shoulder. Sonographic diagnosis of the rotator cuff in particular contains a multitude of possible errors, which are gone into by this study by means of 149 clinically, radiologically and sonographically examined shoulder patients with an average age of 50.5 years. Besides errors made by wrong examination technique such of the transducer as incorrect adjustment of the equipment, insufficient contact of the transducer with the skin and unsuitable choice of the examination plane, there are sources of errors in the interpretation of the sonogram caused by lack of knowledge about physically caused artifacts and sonoanatomical qualities of the shoulder joint. Calcification inside the rotator cuff and the so-called "sonographic inhomogeneity of the rotator cuff" are numbered among the sources of error particular to the shoulder joint. Most errors in sonographic diagnosis of the rotator cuff can be avoided by careful examination of both shoulder joints with an exactly tuned ultrasound device, taking into account the sonoanatomical and ultrasonic qualities. Radiological examination of the affected shoulder joint cannot be replaced by ultrasound.