Evaluation of ultrasound as a tool for etiological diagnosis of painful arc syndrome

To evaluate the role of ultrasonography as a tool for etiological diagnosis of painful arc syndrome.Fifteen consecutive patients of painful arc syndrome were evaluated clinically and by ultrasonography. The patients were scanned using a high resolution linear array scanner with a 7.5-12.5 MHz (ATL HDI 5000, Munich) linear transducer. The patients were managed by open acromioplasty and the pre-operative sonographic findings were correlated with the surgical findings.The age of patients ranged from 32 years to 68 years, with an average age of 50 years. The majority of the patients were females (73.3%). Duration of symptoms ranged from 3 months to 10 years, with average duration being 15.9 months. The ultrasound was able to detect all full thickness tears and partial thickness tears that were identified during surgery with 100% sensitivity and 100% negative predictive value and 66.7% accuracy.The authors feel that ultrasound is an accurate and reliable imaging modality for diagnosis and classification of rotator cuff tears and subacromial impingement.