Abstract

A shortcut review was carried out to establish whether ultrasonography was a reliable and accurate imaging modality to detect rotator cuff tears in adult patients. Four papers were found to be relevant to the clinical question following the below-described search strategies. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of those best papers are tabulated. It is concluded that ultrasound has a diagnostic accuracy high enough to detect full-thickness rotator cuff tears. It is, however, less accurate in detecting partial-thickness ruptures.