Role of Ultrasonography in Evaluation of Rotator Cuff Muscle Injury

Background: The term “rotator cuff” referred to the four muscles supporting the humeral head originating from the scapular anterior and posterior aspects with their tendons inserted in the lesser and greater tuberosity. These muscles are the subscapularis; supraspinatus; infraspinatus and teres minor .Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of musculoskeletal ultrasound in the detection of rotator cuff injuries as compared to MRI as a gold standard technique.Patient and methods: This study included 30 patients presented to the radiology department of Sohag University, with shoulder pain for evaluation of the rotator cuff integrity. Ultrasonography and non-enhanced MRI were done to all patients by 2 different radiologists being blind to the results of the other examination to minimize the bias . The age of our cases had two peaks, one at the age of 50 and a smaller one at around the age of 30. Results: Mean age was 42.07years, with age ranged from 25 to 60 years.10 were males and 20 were females. In our study the sensitivity statistics of MSUS compared to MRI was as follows: sensitivity (96.6%); specificity (100%); positive predictive value (100%); negative predictive value (50%) and accuracy (98.3%).Conclusion: Ultrasound has comparable accuracy with MRI for identifying rotator cuff injuries. Ultrasound can be used as screening modality since it is easily available and cost effective.