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No significant difference in results seen in comparison of three treatments for supraspinatus tears
Investigators discovered no significant difference in clinical outcomes at 2 years among patients with non-traumatic supraspinatus shoulder tears who were treated with either physiotherapy only, acromioplasty and physiotherapy, or rotator cuff repair, acromioplasty and physiotherapy.
Researchers randomly assigned 180 shoulders with symptomatic, non-traumatic supraspinatus tears to receive one of the three treatments. The primary outcome measure was the Constant score, and secondary outcome measures included patient satisfaction, rotator cuff integrity in a control imaging investigation, cost of treatment and VAS pain scores.
At 2 years, 167 shoulders in 160 patients were available for analysis. Results showed no significant difference in the mean change of Constant score. Investigators found a change of 18.4 points in the physiotherapy group (group 1), 20.5 points in the acromioplasty and physiotherapy group (group 2) and 22.6 points in the rotator cuff repair, acromioplasty and physiotherapy group (group 3). Researchers also noted no significant differences between the groups in VAS pain scores and patient satisfaction. Group 3 experienced a significantly smaller mean sagittal size of the tendon tear at 2 years compared with groups 1 and 2, according to study results. Researchers found, compared with physiotherapy only, rotator cuff repair and acromioplasty were significantly more expensive. – by Casey Tingle
Disclosures: Kukkonen reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.