Ultrasonographic Measures of Subacromial Space in Patients with Rotator Cuff Disease: A Systematic Review

Purpose. Recently sonography (US) has been used to measure the subacromial space outlet with a linear measurement of the acromiohumeral distance (AHD). The purpose of this article is to systematically review the literature on the influence of rotator cuff disease (RCD) on AHD using US. Methods. Computer-aided searches of databases were performed to identify comparative studies that measured US-generated AHD in adults with symptomatic RCD. Results. Five studies met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Conclusions. US images of AHD are smaller in patients with full-thickness tears than healthy individuals and subjects with subacromial impingement. AHD is potentially useful to prognosticate outcome in patients with subacromial impingement. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 39: 146-154, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/jcu.20783