The Sensitivity of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Ultrasonography in Detecting Rotator Cuff Tears

Shoulder pain is a common cause of morbidity in the general population. Differential diagnosis may be difficult. Soft tissue shoulder disorders are the most common causes of shoulder pain. Noninvasive imaging techniques can reveal rotator cuff (RC) pathologies. These include ultrasonography (US) and MRI. Minimally invasive techniques such as magnetic resonance arthrography (MRA) can also be recruited when required. We conducted a retrospective study of 61 consecutive patients with shoulder pain, who had undergone preoperative imaging in the form of US or MRI and subsequently proceeded to arthroscopic surgery. Nineteen patients had a US and 42 had an MRI preoperative imaging evaluation. This evaluation was compared to the operative findings. The US sensitivity was 87%, while specificity was 63%. The MRI accuracy rose to a sensitivity of 95% when specificity was 72%. The positive predictive value (PPV) was 64% for US and 76% for MRI. The negative predictive value (NPV) was 87% for US and 94% for MRI. The overall accuracy of the ultrasound was 73% and of the MRI 83%.