Objective To investigate the value of ultrasound in diagnosing, treating and follow-up of patients with supraspinatus tendon injury. Methods Between May 2014 and October 2015, ultrasound and MRI examinations were performed on 52 patients who were suspected to have supraspinatus tendon injury in the First People’s Hospital of Guangyuan. According to the conditions of the disease, patients underwent conservative or surgical treatment. The treatment results were compared with MRI and arthroscopic surgery. And regular ultrasound follow-up was performed at different recovery stages to observe the changes of the supraspinatus tendon, in order to provide corresponding basis for further clinical treatment. Results Ultrasound results showed that 37 patients had supraspinatus tendon injury. Based on MRI results, the sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and coincidence rate of the ultrasound examination were 85.0%, 75.0%, 91.9%, 60.0% and 82.7%, respectively. Of these 37 patients, 18 underwent conservative treatment, 7 underwent calcified mass mashing and aspiration treatment through needles under the guidance of ultrasonography, and 12 underwent arthroscopic surgery. Conclusions Ultrasonography is accurate in diagnosing supraspinatus tendon injury, which can achieve bilateral comparison and real-time dynamic information of the patients. When it is necessary, it can also guide localization and puncture of local lesions. Furthermore, it is inexpensive and easy for treatment and follow-up.
Objective To summarize the evaluation methods of postoperative healing of supraspinatus tendon tear in recent years, in order to provide reference for clinic. Methods CNKI, Wanfang, PubMed, and Foreign Medical Literature Retrieval Service (FMRS) databases were used to search the literatures between 2005 and 2022. The literature related to the diagnosis and postoperative healing of supraspinatus tendon tear was included. Finally, 50 articles were reviewed. ResultsSupraspinatus tendon tear is a common shoulder disease. Physical examination, clinical score, and imaging examination are used to predict and evaluate the postoperative healing. Among them, physical examination and clinical score are non-invasive and the most economical methods, but their accuracy and sensitivity are lower than imaging examination, so they can only be used as auxiliary methods. The acromio-humeral distance (AHD) and upward migration index (UMI) measured by X-ray films can directly reflect the change of supraspinatus tendon thickness, but they are impossible to distinguish whether there is tear or not. Ultrasound and MRI are the main methods for the clinical diagnosis of supraspinatus tendon tear, but the commonly used MRI sequence can not accurately judge the internal healing of the tendon. Shear wave elastrography (SWE) and ultrashort-echo-time (UTE) techniques are the latest research directions in recent years, but different studies have shown opposite conclusions on the application of SWE technique. This conclusion shows that the principle of SWE technique and its relationship with tendons need to be further studied. UTE technique has good clinical effect, and the T2* value obtained by UTE technique is more accurate than that of traditional Sugaya typing, but there are still few research samples. Conclusion AHD and UMI measured by X-ray film and T2* value measured by UTE technique can be used as effective methods for evaluating the healing of supraspinatus tendon tear after repairing, and can be used as a follow-up evaluation method combined with physical examination and clinical score for patients with supraspinatus tendon tear.