Reliability of Ultrasound Measurement of Muscle Thickness In Patients with Supraspinatus Tendon Pathology

Abstract

SUMMARY – Objectives of the study were to observe supraspinatus muscle thickness in patients with supraspinatus tendon pathology using ultrasound (US) and examining inter- and intra-rater reliability, and to compare muscle thickness with cross-sectional area (CSA) and occupation ratio measured by both US and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The investigation was designed as a prospective cohort study. Two groups of patients were included in the study: 43 patients with tendon rupture and 44 patients without tendon rupture as a control group. A written consent was obtained from all patients. In both groups, muscle thickness, CSA and occupation ratio were measured with US, and CSA and occupation ratio with MRI. Study results showed statistically significant between-group differences. The mean supraspinatus muscle thickness measured by US was 14.01 mm and 19.83 mm in patients with and without tendon rupture, respectively. CSA and occupation ratio measured by US and MRI also showed statistically significant between-group differences. Pearson correlation coefficient between supraspinatus thickness and occupation ratio and CSA measured by US and MRI showed strong to moderate correlation. US measurements showed moderate to strong intra- and inter-rater reliability. In conclusion, supraspinatus muscle thickness measurement by US is a reliable method for muscle atrophy evaluation and strongly correlates with other acknowledged methods.

Ultrasound-Guided Measurement of Piriformis Muscle Thickness to Diagnose Piriformis Syndrome

“…According to the literature, several methods have been described and studied to identify PM thickness. However, studies assessing the cut-off and validity standard of PM thickness to track PS condition have not been conducted (10)(11)(12)(13)(14). In this study, we found that the AUROC of PM thickness was 0.970 (95% CI 0.943-0.998, p < 0.05), suggesting that the PM thickness was a good predictor of PS.…”

“…Moreover, few studies have shown that US measurement of muscle thickness is reliable for musculoskeletal pathology diagnosis, such as in patients with supraspinatus tendon pathology by Kretić et al ( 12 ) and thigh muscle thickness for the assessment of sarcopenia by Hida et al ( 13 ). Hence, we suggest that the US-guided measurement of PM thickness is one of the major diagnostic criteria for PS.…”

Agreement in rotator cuff muscles measurement between ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging

“… 15 , 16 In these previous studies, the atrophy of SSP muscle was assessed by the occupation ratio with US; cross-sectional area of SSP muscle belly divided by the surface area of scapular fossa. 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 However, the agreement between occupation ratio measured by US and MRI was 0.43 shown by Kim et al., 20 and 0.90byKhoury et al. 17 Thus, discrepancy was reported for this agreement.…”

“…Therefore, the measurement of muscle thickness could be a more suitable evaluation for muscle atrophy in clinical practice.Asinprevious literatures, the correlation between muscle thickness of SSP measured by US and the cross-sectional area using MRI was 0.60, and 0.76. 19 , 21 Nevertheless, little research has been conducted to showthe agreement betweenthe cross-sectional area of ISP and TM measured by MRIandthe muscle thicknessmeasuredby US. Also, the muscle thickness of SSP was evaluated at the scapular notch.…”

Results of treatment of arthrosis of the acromial-clavicular joint in patients with partial rupture of the supraspinatus muscle tendon

“…12,13 According to our data, arthrosis of the clavicular-acromial joint is one of the most common causes of pain in the shoulder joint during rehabilitation in patients after a suture of a partial rupture of the tendon of the supraspinatus muscle of the shoulder. [14][15][16][17] Pain in the clavicular-acromial joint in patients after a suture of the rotator cuff of the shoulder disrupts to development of movements in the shoulder joint, increases the duration of rehabilitation, and worsens the overall results of treatment. In the English-language literature, we did not find works devoted to damage to the tendon of the supraspinatus muscle against the background of deforming arthrosis of the clavicular-acromial joint.…”