Can ultrasound suffice for triaging patients requiring surgical correction of rotator cuff tears—a comparative evaluation of ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging

Egyptian Journal of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine

Table 1 Diagnostic criteria

Pathology	Diagnostic criteria
Tendinosis (Fig. 1)	US: hypoechoic on US with or without bulky tendon.	MRI: mildly hyperintense on PDFS images and does not demonstrate hyperintensity on T2 FS images.
Partial thickness tear [11] (Figs. 1 and 2a–c)	US: hypoechoic/anechoic area within the substance (interstitial/intrasubstance tear), limited to articular surface (articular surface tear) or bursal surface (bursal surface tear).	MRI: fluid-like hyperintensity on both PDFS images and T2FS/STIR images (a cortical bone irregularity of the greater tuberosity is a sensitive sign of an articular-side partial thickness tear).
Full thickness tear [11,12,13,14] (Fig. 3)	US/MRI: full thickness tendon defect, non-visualization of tendon with joint fluid, tendon retraction, deltoid herniation/dipping.
SA-SD bursitis	When the bursa is distended more than 3 mm due to abnormal amount of fluid present with/without bursal thickening.
Acromio-clavicular degeneration [15] (Fig. 4d, e)	Grade-I (mild): capsular distention and/or irregularity along the joint surfaces. Grade-II (mild): Grade-I plus subchondral sclerosis and/or subchondral cyst formation and/or osteophyte formation. Grade-III (mild): Grade-II plus narrowing joint space and/or capsular hypertrophy and thickening.
Calcific tendinitis [16] (Fig. 4a–c)	US: multiple echogenic foci with/without posterior acoustic shadowing. MRI: T1/T2WI show corresponding hypointense signal.