The application of shear wave elastography with ultrasound for rotator cuff tears: a systematic review

Background

Shear wave elastography (SWE) is an emerging ultrasound-based technology that provides a quantitative assessment of musculoskeletal tissue integrity. This systematic review investigates the use of SWE in the evaluation of rotator cuff tears.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant studies from 1901 up to June 2022. Articles utilizing SWE in rotator cuff tears were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The studies included involved the assessment of shear wave velocity, tendon thickness and stiffness after healing, and fatty infiltrates evaluation using SWE. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the risk of bias in included observational studies. Double-sided P value < .05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

Sixteen studies comprising 520 patients were included in the systematic review. SWE demonstrated that shear wave velocities in torn supraspinatus tendons were lower than in healthy supraspinatus tendons. A decrease in tendon SWE modulus elasticity was observed in tendinopathic tendons. Shear wave velocity decreased with increasing fat content and muscle atrophy. The velocity of SWE in muscle in re-tear groups was greater than in the healed group at 1 month after surgery (P < .05).

Conclusion

SWE ultrasound of the supraspinatus tendon can be a useful diagnostic tool for orthopedic surgeons that provide quantitative information on tendinopathic stiffness, velocity, fatty infiltrate, and elasticity characteristics. Decreased tendon velocity of SWE may predict recurrent rotator cuff tears and be useful in postoperative evaluations for muscle healing to plan for future management.

Prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea With Floppy Eyelid Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

PURPOSE

This study investigated the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in floppy eyelid syndrome (FES) patients and evaluated the severity of OSA with FES prevalence.

METHODS

Cochrane CENTRAL, Medline, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and PubMed databases were searched for studies on FES patients and its association with OSA syndrome, of any design, published from January 1, 1997, to January 1, 2022. A random-effects model that weighted the studies was used when there was heterogeneity between studies ( p < 0.10) and if I 2 values were more than 50%. All p values were 2-tailed and considered statistically significant if <0.05.

RESULTS

A total of 12 studies comprising 511 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Of these, 368 were male (77.6%) and the average age was 55.10 years. The overall prevalence of OSA in FES patients was 57.1% (95% CI: 46.5-74.8%), M:F ratio was 48:1 (98% male), and 69.1% of patients received their OSA diagnosis at the time of the study. Of those with FES, tear film abnormalities were the most common ocular comorbidity (78.9%) followed by keratoconus (20.6%), glaucoma (9.8%), and lower eyelid ectropion (4.6%). Obesity was the most common systemic morbidity (43.7%) followed by hypertension (34.0%) and diabetes mellitus (17.9%).

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis demonstrates OSA is a common comorbidity in the FES population. Ophthalmologists are often the first to evaluate patients with FES, and considering this coincidence, routine screens for sleep apnea symptoms in at-risk FES patients should be undertaken. Large case-control studies are required to better elucidate the exact prevalence of OSA and other morbidities in patients with FES, and to better understand the etiology of FES.