SynthesisKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2017
Physical examination tests and imaging studies based on arthroscopic assessment of the long head of biceps tendon are invalid.
Synthesis in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- 3D imaging has good specificity but poor sensitivity for the diagnosis of pathologies of the long head of the biceps: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2022Pooled it
- A practical, evidence-based, comprehensive (PEC) physical examination for diagnosing pathology of the long head of the biceps.Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery · 2017Pooled it
- Long Head of Biceps Tendinopathy: A Scoping Review of Classifications and Proposed Novel Classification System.The Iowa orthopaedic journal · 2025Article
- Mild Biceps Tendonitis May Be Managed Nonoperatively During Shoulder Arthroscopy.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2023Article
- The long head of biceps at the shoulder: a scoping review.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Article
- Article
- The role of elbow positioning on arthroscopic assessment of the long head of biceps tendon in the beach chair position.ANZ journal of surgery · 2022Article
- Magnetic resonance arthrography is insufficiently accurate to diagnose biceps lesions prior to rotator cuff repair.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2020Article
- Diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance arthrography to assess biceps pathologies prior to rotator cuff repair: response to the Letter to the Editor.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2020Article
- Magnetic resonance arthrography is insufficiently accurate to diagnose biceps lesions prior to rotator cuff repair.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2019Article
- Diagnosis of long head of biceps tendinopathy in rotator cuff tear patients: correlation of imaging and arthroscopy data.International orthopaedics · 2018Article
- Biceps Tenoscopy: Arthroscopic Evaluation of the Extra-articular Portion of the Long Head of Biceps Tendon.Arthroscopy techniques · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe aim of this study was to evaluate whether glenohumeral arthroscopy is an appropriate gold standard for the diagnosis of long head of biceps (LHB) tendon pathology. The objectives were to evaluate whether the length of tendon that can be seen at arthroscopy allows visualisation of areas of predilection of pathology and also to determine the rates of missed diagnoses at arthroscopy when compared to an open approach.
methodsA systematic review of cadaveric and clinical studies was performed. The search strategy was applied to MEDLINE, PubMed and Google Scholar databases. All relevant articles were included. Critical appraisal of clinical studies was performed using a validated quality assessment scale.
resultsFive articles were identified for inclusion in the review. This included both clinical and cadaveric studies. The overall population comprised 18 cadaveric specimens and 575 patients. Out of the five included studies, three reported the length of LHB tendon visualised during arthroscopy and four reported the rate of missed LHB diagnosis. Cadaveric studies showed that the use of a hook probe allowed arthroscopic visualisation of between 34 and 48 % of the overall length of the LHB. In the clinical series, the rate of missed diagnoses at arthroscopy when compared to open exploration ranged between 33 and 49 %.
conclusionsArthroscopy allows visualisation of only a small part of the extra-articular LHB tendon. This leads to a high rate of missed pathology in the distal part of the tendon. Published figures for sensitivities and specificities of common physical examination and imaging tests for LHB pathology that are based on arthroscopy as the gold standard are therefore invalid. In clinical practice, it is important to note that a "negative" arthroscopic assessment does not exclude a lesion of the LHB tendon as this technique does not allow visualisation of common sites of distal pathology. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.