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The value of computed tomography in the diagnosis of grating scapula

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Abstract

Snapping or grating scapula is a condition of the shoulder girdle in which the patient complains of pain and an audible snapping sound which may be associated with pain. We evaluated the diagnostic value of the computed tomography (CT) scans using the clinical diagnosis of a grating scapula as the gold standard. This retrospective study reports the sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio and receiver operator characteristic curve for the CT scans and the κ value as a measure of the interobserver agreement. None of the parameters validated the examination. We therefore concluded that CT scans are inappropriate for differentiation between a grating scapula and a normally functioning shoulder except in cases where bony abnormalities are present.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State University of Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Mirjam de Haart

  2. Radiology Department, Academical Hospital, P. Debeyelaan 25, NL-6202 AZ, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Eduard S. van der Linden M.D.

  3. Epidemiology, State University of Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Henrica C. W. de Vet Ph.D.

  4. Orthopaedic Department, Academical Hospital, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Henk Arens M.D.

Authors
  1. Mirjam de Haart
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  2. Eduard S. van der Linden M.D.
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  3. Henrica C. W. de Vet Ph.D.
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  4. Henk Arens M.D.
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  5. Gabriël Snoep M.D.
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de Haart, M., van der Linden, E.S., de Vet, H.C.W. et al. The value of computed tomography in the diagnosis of grating scapula. Skeletal Radiol. 23, 357–359 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02416993

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02416993

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