Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31428659›Full record

ArticleOrthopaedic journal of sports medicine2019

Effect of Muscle Quality on Operative and Nonoperative Treatment of Rotator Cuff Tears.

Micah Naimark, Thai Trinh, Christopher Robbins, Bridger Rodoni, James Carpenter, Asheesh Bedi, Bruce Miller

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Muscle Health & Fatty Infiltration with Advanced Rotator Cuff Pathology.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2025
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Agreement in rotator cuff muscles measurement between ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging.Asia-Pacific journal of sports medicine, arthroscopy, rehabilitation and technology · 2022
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Magnetic resonance imaging of the shoulder.Polish journal of radiology · 2020
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Micah NaimarkDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Thai TrinhDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Christopher RobbinsDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Bridger RodoniDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
James CarpenterDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Asheesh BediDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Bruce MillerDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRotator cuff muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration are predictors of negative outcomes after rotator cuff repair. However, the impact of muscle degeneration on nonsurgical treatment is unknown. HYPOTHESIS: Rotator cuff muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration will reduce the outcomes of operative repair while having a minimal effect on nonsurgical treatment. Additionally, in the setting of atrophy and fatty infiltration, surgical and nonsurgical treatment will produce equivalent outcomes. STUDY

designCohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

methodsPatients undergoing operative and nonoperative treatment of full-thickness rotator cuff tears were prospectively enrolled into a nonrandomized cohort study. Muscle quality was assessed on magnetic resonance imaging by use of the supraspinatus tangent sign, Warner atrophy, and Goutallier fatty infiltration classifications. Grading was performed by 2 independent observers who were blinded to patient treatment and outcomes. Normalized Western Ontario Rotator Cuff (WORC) index was the primary patient-reported outcome. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to determine the impact of muscle quality on treatment outcomes.

resultsThe cohort consisted of 157 patients, 89 (57%) surgical and 68 (43%) nonsurgical, with a mean follow-up of 2.4 years (range, 1-5 years). Tangent sign had the best inter- and intrarater reliability, with kappa statistics of 0.81 and 0.86, respectively. Reliability for Warner atrophy was 0.69 to 0.76 and for Goutallier classification was 0.54 to 0.64. Overall, improvement in WORC scores was higher in the surgical group than the nonsurgical group (39.3 vs 21.2;

conclusionA positive tangent sign was predictive of worse operative outcomes, resulting in equivalent improvements between surgical and nonsurgical treatment. The tangent sign is a reliable, prognostic indicator that clinicians can use when counseling patients on the optimal treatment of rotator cuff tears.

Indexed as

arthroscopic repairfatty infiltrationmuscle atrophynonoperative treatmentrotator cufftangent sign

Identifiers

PMID31428659
PMCPMC6683312
OpenAlexW2964571492

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.