Tears of the supraspinatus tendon: assessment with indirect magnetic resonance arthrography in 67 patients with arthroscopic correlation

Background: Magnetic resonance (MR) arthrography is generally regarded as the gold standard for shoulder imaging. As an alternative to direct MR arthrography, the less invasive indirect MR arthrography technique was proposed, offering logistic advantages because fluoroscopic or ultrasonographic guidance for joint injection is not required.Purpose: To assess the diagnostic performance of indirect MR arthrography in the diagnosis of full- and partial-thickness supraspinatus tears in a symptomatic population.Material and Methods: Two radiologists with different levels of experience independently and retrospectively interpreted indirect MR (1.5T) arthrograms of the shoulder obtained in 67 symptomatic patients who underwent subsequent arthroscopy. On MR, the supraspinatus tendon was evaluated for full- or partial-thickness tear. With arthroscopy as the standard of reference, sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of indirect MR arthrography in the detection of full- and partial-thickness tears of th...