Diagnostic accuracy of 3T conventional shoulder MRI in the detection of the long head of the biceps tendon tears associated with rotator cuff tendon tears

Abstract

Non-contrast-enhanced 3T shoulder MRI is potentially highly accurate in detection of complete LHBT tears, but moderately accurate in detection of partial LHBT tears.

CT arthrography of the intra-articular long head of biceps tendon: Diagnostic performance outside the labral-bicipital complex

“…However, this method shows a much wider variation for the diagnosis of biceps tendon lesions with sensitivities and specificities ranging from 25 to 91% and from 56% to 96% respectively [13,17,21,22]. For the detection of tendinopathy the reported variation is even wider (9.1% to 80% and 69.8% to 98% for sensitivity and specificity respectively) [14,21,[23][24][25][26][27]. This variation in performance may be due to difficulties in interpreting the signal anomalies at the entry of the bicipital groove related to magic angle and partial volume effects.…”

“…analysis is hindered at the entrance to the bicipital groove, a frequent site not only for magic angle effects but also for true tendinopathy [13,14]. The LHB tendon is prone to anisotropy artifacts on ultrasound and the performance of this method for the evaluation of the intraarticular portion of this tendon, which is also the most frequent site of LHB pathology, is limited [15].…”

Diagnostic Accuracy of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound on Long Head Biceps Tendon Pathologies

“…The MRI is commonly ordered for diagnosis; however, MRI has only moderate sensitivity and SP. 4,5 The results of this review indicates that MSK US is a fast, safe, inexpensive, and noninvasive alternative to MRI imaging or arthroscopy in the diagnosis of LHB tendon pathology. When used in combination with clinical special tests, MSK US drastically increases the diagnostic accuracy of the clinical examination.…”

“…Disorders of the long head of the biceps brachii (LHB) tendon are a common source of shoulder pain. [1][2][3][4][5] An effective treatment plan first requires an accurate understanding of the impairment. Although a careful history and physical examination are important, clinically differentiating full-thickness tears (FTT) from partialthickness tears (PTT) or tendinitis can be difficult, 6 as clinical special tests for the proximal biceps do not differentiate type of biceps pathology and demonstrate low or moderate sensitivity and specificity (SP) when used individually or in combination.…”

Editorial Commentary: Thank You, Thank You, Thank You… for Demonstrating Histologic Evidence of Shoulder Bicipital Tunnel Disease in the Absence of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings

“…Using partial LHBT tears confirmed at arthroscopy as a surrogate for disease, several authors have reported MRI sensitivity ranging from 27% to 86% and specificity from 71% to 98%. [8][9][10][11] However, in light of our expanding understanding of the wide array of lesions that may produce the clinical entity biceps tendinitis (not exclusive to partial tears), these sensitivities and specificities are likely inflated.…”