MR Imaging Findings of the Shoulder in Patients with Shoulder Pain
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2019
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Abeba University
Abstract
Background: Shoulder pain is the third commonest cause of pain of all musculoskeletal related
complaints. The diagnosis of shoulder pathologies is based primarily upon the results of clinical
tests and imaging findings. Of the imaging modalities Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is
sensitive and accurate non-invasive tool in the investigation of shoulder pathology. Since the
introduction of MR in this country, no data has been made available about the MR imaging
findings of patients presenting with shoulder pain.
Objective: The aim of the present study is to determine the imaging pattern of various shoulder
pathologies, as seen on MRI, in patients presenting with shoulder pain at St Paul’s Hospital
Millennium Medical College, which is one of the tertiary and teaching hospitals in Addis Ababa.
Method: This is an institutional based descriptive cross sectional study in which a total of 101
patients satisfying the inclusion criteria over a period of sixteen months were included. The MR
images were read using structured reporting. Statistical analysis of the findings was then done
using the software SPSS version 25.
Result: There were 54 (53.5%) male and 47 (46.6%) female patients. The age ranged from
twenty to seventy years. The mean age was 43.81years.The most common indication to have an
MRI was chronic pain accounting for 70 (69.2%) of the cases and the right shoulder was imaged
more than the left with the ratio of 2.15:1. Rotator cuff disease is the most common pathology of
glenohumeral joint, for which MRI was done. Involvement of supraspinatus tendon was 64.3%
in all the pathologies. Of the 41 patients diagnosed with supraspinatus tear, partial tear was seen
in 34 patients (82.9%) and complete tear was seen in 7 (17%) patients. Degenerative disease of
the AC joint was the second most common pathology detected and it was associated with
supraspinatus tendon pathology and sub acromial sub deltoid bursitis. 15.8% of the cases had a
normal MR finding in this study.
Conclusion: Rotator cuff pathology and AC joint arthritis were the two commonest pathologies
detected on MR, and supraspinatus tendon was the most common involved tendon with
pathology. Though MRI is the preferred test for evaluating rotator cuff pathology and
impingement syndrome, the cost and burden of ordering MR is significant. Proper indications
and the relevance of the findings should be well evaluated and guide lines should be prepared for
the imaging of patients with shoulder pain.
Description
Keywords
MR Imaging, Shoulder pain ,Patients