Reliability of musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging to measure supraspinatus tendon thickness in healthy subjects.
Ashfaq Ahmad, Mohammad A Mohseni Bandpei, S Amir Gilani and 3 others
PMID 28878470WHAT IT FOUND
Musculoskeletal ultrasound measured supraspinatus tendon thickness consistently in 20 healthy adults when the same expert repeated scans and when two experts scanned.
It does not show ultrasound is accurate for diagnosing tears in patients.
Key findings
01The average measured supraspinatus tendon thickness was 5.14 mm for rater one within day and 5.19 mm between days; for rater two it was 5.14 mm and 5.13 mm.
02When the same examiner repeated scans on the same day, agreement was high (ICC 0.89-0.93) and measurement error was 0.18 mm; across one week, agreement was high (ICC 0.88-0.90) and measurement error was 0.17-0.38 mm.
03When two expert examiners scanned, agreement was high (ICC 0.95-0.99 within day and 0.88-0.98 across one week), with measurement error 0.17 mm.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was done in 20 healthy adults, so it does not show how reliable the measurement is in people with shoulder pain, partial tears, or full-thickness tears. The sample was small and recruited from university employees and their family members or friends, so it may not represent the wider population. Both examiners were experienced musculoskeletal ultrasound specialists with more than 10 years of practice, so the results may not apply to clinicians with less ultrasound experience. The study measured tendon thickness only and did not test whether ultrasound can accurately diagnose rotator cuff tears compared with MRI or other reference standards.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that musculoskeletal ultrasound is a reliable diagnostic test for supraspinatus tears in patients. This study measured only healthy adults and tested repeatability of tendon thickness, not accuracy for diagnosing pathology.