Introduction:

In rotator cuff rupture, the supraspinatus tendon ranks first in frequency. MRI is the study of choice for preoperative diagnosis and planning. The objective of this study was to assess the concordance between findings observed with MRI and transoperative in patients with supraspinatus tendon rupture.

Material and methods:

A retrospective analysis was conducted from January 2014 to January 2020. Including patients over the age of 18, with MRI and supraspinatus tendon rupture report. A χ2 analysis was performed for sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and diagnostic certainty using surgical findings as a reference. The kappa index was used to show the concordance between MRI and transoperative findings.

Results:

A total of 79 patients were included in the study, 45 male and 34 female. The average age was 52.14 years. MRI correctly diagnosed 60.76% of supraspinatus ruptures, showing 74% sensitivity and 96% specificity for complete ruptures. For partial ruptures I show a sensitivity of 96%, a specificity of 33%. The kappa index showed a match of 0.90 for total ruptures and 0.53 for partial.

Conclusions:

MRI demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing complete ruptures, with good match to surgical findings. MRI proved to be a non-specific study for the identification of partial ruptures, which causes these lesions to be overdiagnosed.