Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) Elastography in Evaluation of Supraspinatus Tendinopathy

• Published in: Current medical imaging reviews Vol. 19; no. 6; p. 631
• Main Authors: Serifoglu, Ismail, Guneyli, Serkan, Ilker Oz, Ibrahim, Tosun, Alptekin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United Arab Emirates 01-01-2023
• Subjects: Acoustics; Adult; Elasticity Imaging Techniques - methods; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Rotator Cuff - diagnostic imaging; Rotator Cuff - pathology; Rotator Cuff Injuries - diagnostic imaging; Rotator Cuff Injuries - pathology; Tendinopathy - diagnostic imaging; Tendinopathy - pathology; quantitative assessment; ARFI elastography; shoulder pain; rotator cuff; supraspinatus tendon; shear wave elastography
• ISSN: 1573-4056
• DOI: 10.2174/1573405619666221115135842

The most common etiology of shoulder pain in adults is rotator cuff tear. Elastography is an imaging method that can report the strain and elastic modulus of the biological tissue. We think acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography can effectively assess rotator cuff tendinopathy.
This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of ARFI elastography in evaluating supraspinatus tendinopathy.
We included 44 patients (22 men, 22 women, median age, 47 years; range, 20-69 years) with unilateral supraspinatus tendinopathy diagnosed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in this prospective study. The normal tendons and tendinopathies, including supraspinatus tendinosis, partial-thickness, and full-thickness supraspinatus tears, were evaluated with ultrasound and ARFI elastography. The ARFI elastography values were compared between healthy and tendinopathy groups, and the gender was compared between elastography values of the normal tendons and tendinopathies using the Mann-Whitney U test.
The values of ARFI elastography correlated with tendinopathy. (P = 0.001). The gender differed between the elastography values of the normal tendons (P = 0.002) and tendinopathies (P = 0.001).
ARFI elastography is a non-invasive and feasible method for quantitatively assessing supraspinatus tendinopathy. It can be an alternative method to MRI in diagnosing supraspinatus tendinopathy.