US DEPICTION OF PARTIAL-THICKNESS TEAR OF THE ROTATOR CUFF

PURPOSE: To test previously defined ultrasound (US) criteria for ident ification of partial-thickness tears of the rotator cuff. MATERIALS AN D METHODS: Before shoulder arthroscopy, 52 patients with shoulder pain for more than 3 months were examined with a 7.5-MHz commercially avai lable linear-array transducer and a standardized study protocol. The c riteria used to detect partial-thickness tears were (a) a mixed hyper- and hypoechoic focus in the crucial zone of the supraspinatus tendon and (b) a hypoechoic lesion visualized in two orthogonal imaging plane s with either articular or bursal extension. RESULTS: The US findings were reported as partial-thickness tears in 17 shoulders, of which thr ee were false-positive findings. There was one false-negative finding. The sensitivity of US in depiction of partial-thickness tears was 93% , and specificity was 94%. The positive predictive value was 82%, and the negative predictive value was 98%. CONCLUSION: US can depict most partial-thickness tears with use of the criteria described.