Significance of critical shoulder angle as predictor in rotator cuff tear

Abstract

Objectives: A critical shoulder angle (CSA) is the angle between the line drawn from the Glenoid’s superior and inferior margins and a line drawn from the inferior glenoid margin to the lateral border of acromion. The study aims to establish the significance of CSA as a predictor in RCT. Materials and Methods: Data points were collected retrospectively from 196 patients with shoulder pain who visited out-patient department or were in an inpatient orthopedics ward. The diagnosis of those patients of either a RCT or a normal shoulder was confirmed using ultrasonography or magnetic resonance imaging. Then, two investigators, unaware of the status of RCT or non-RCT (NRCT), calculated the CSA. Later, these data points were compared using an unpaired t-test, which helped to determine the accuracy of CSA in diagnosing RCT and the optimal cutoff. Results: We included 196 patients in our studies, out of which 101 patients had RCT s, that is, in the RCT group and 95 in the NRCT group. The CSA was higher in the RCT group (P < 0.01) than in the NRCT group. Conclusion: At the end of the study, we concluded that there is a significant correlation between CSA and RCT that CSA is significantly greater in patients with RCT.