Role of dynamic ultrasound versus MRI in diagnosis and assessment of shoulder impingement syndrome

Abstract

Background: Subacromial impingement is the most frequent cause of shoulder pain, accounting for up to 60% of all shoulder complaints; dynamic high-resolution ultrasonography can be used in the detection of different abnormalities causing and related to shoulder impingement. This is compared to MRI, which we considered as a standard in our cases. Results: Fifty patients presented with symptoms of painful shoulder with 42 patients of them having limited movements of their shoulders. All patients had a conventional B-mode ultrasound examination, and dynamic sonographic examination was also performed in all patients. The results were compared to the MRI examination results of those patients. The addition of dynamic ultrasound examination for diagnosis of the painful shoulder showed the highest sensitivity in the assessment of impingement syndrome and for detection of different abnormalities affecting the shoulder joint (e.g., 85.7% for rotator cuff partial-thickness tear, 90% for rotator cuff full-thickness tear). Conclusion: Based on our results, the static US combined with dynamic study can be a helpful tool in detecting different abnormalities of the painful shoulder especially impingement syndrome and its different causes.