Utility of shoulder radiographic indices in rotator cuff tears diagnosed by ultrasound

Abstract

[EN]Rotator cuff (RC) injuries are a common cause of shoulder pain and dysfunction. Their multifac torial etiology includes anatomical and clinical factors. This study evaluates the utility of vari ous radiographic indices in detecting RC tears and explores their correlation with the condition of the long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT). A cross-sectional study was conducted with 150 pa tients assessed using shoulder radiography and ultrasound. Variables analyzed included acromial slope (AS), acromial tilt (AT), acromial index (AI), subacromial distance (SD), lateral acromion angle (LAA), and critical shoulder angle (CSA). Associa tions were examined through logistic regression, and predictive models with and without the vari able “Age” were compared. Most injuries affected the supraspinatus ten don and were full tears (72.1%). CSA (OR = 0.798, p < 0.001) and SD (OR = 0.559, p < 0.001) were the main predictors of RC tears, along with Age (OR = 1.065, p = 0.003). The model including Age demonstrated better discrimination (R² = 0.601). LAA showed a protective trend (p = 0.053), while AT, AS, and GP showed no significant associations. This investigation highlights the critical role of specific radiographic measures, particularly CSA and SD, in diagnosing RC tears with age as a sig nificant enhancer of tear likelihood. The findings challenge the conventional utility of several ac romial indices and reinforce the interconnected ness of RC pathology with alterations in the LHBT. These insights pave the way for refined diagnostic strategies in clinical settings.