Publikation

Assessment of glenoid inclination on routine clinical radiographs and computed tomography examinations of the shoulder

Wissenschaftlicher Artikel/Review - 29.10.2011

Bereiche
PubMed
DOI

Zitation
Maurer A, Fucentese S, Pfirrmann C, Wirth S, Djahangiri A, Jost B, Gerber C. Assessment of glenoid inclination on routine clinical radiographs and computed tomography examinations of the shoulder. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 2011
Art
Wissenschaftlicher Artikel/Review (Englisch)
Zeitschrift
J Shoulder Elbow Surg 2011
Veröffentlichungsdatum
29.10.2011
eISSN (Online)
1532-6500
Kurzbeschreibung/Zielsetzung

BACKGROUND: Accurate assessment of glenoid inclination is of interest for a variety of conditions and procedures. The purpose of this study was to develop an accurate and reproducible measurement for glenoid inclination on standardized anterior-posterior (AP) radiographs and on computed tomography (CT) images. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three consistently identifiable angles were defined: Angle α by line AB connecting the superior and inferior glenoid tubercle (glenoid fossa) and the line identifying the scapular spine; angle β by line AB and the floor of the supraspinatus fossa; angle γ by line AB and the lateral margin of the scapula. Experimental study: these 3 angles were measured in function of the scapular position to test their resistance to rotation. Conventional AP radiographs and CT scans were acquired in extension/flexion and internal/external rotation in a range up to ±40°. Clinical study: the inter-rater reliability of all angles was assessed on AP radiographs and CT scans of 60 patients (30 with proximal humeral fractures, 30 with osteoarthritis) by 2 independent observers. RESULTS: The experimental study showed that angle α and β have a resistance to rotation of up to ±20°. The deviation from neutral position was not more than ±10°. The results for the inter-rater reliability analyzed by Bland-Altman plots for the angle β fracture group were (mean ± standard deviation) -0.1 ± 4.2 for radiographs and -0.3 ± 3.3 for CT scans; and for the osteoarthritis group were -1.2 ± 3.8 for radiographs and -3.0 ± 3.6 for CT scans. CONCLUSION: Angle β is the most reproducible measurement for glenoid inclination on conventional AP radiographs, providing a resistance to positional variability of the scapula and a good inter-rater reliability.