ReviewAnnals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England2020
Degenerative rotator cuff tear, repair or not repair? A review of current evidence.
Review in Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patient outcomes and return to play after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair in overhead athletes: a systematic review.Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology · 2023Pooled it
- Rotator cuff disease, repair and augmentation.Bulletin of the Hospital for Joint Disease (2013) · 2026Review
- Directed Cell Self-Assembly to Form Tendon and Muscle Models for Studying Early Stages of Musculoskeletal Tissue Formation.Journal of biomechanical engineering · 2026Article
- Clinical application of multi-parameter ultrasonic assessment for grading rotator cuff injuries: development and validation of a novel scoring system.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Combined Arthroscopic Assisted Lower Trapezius Tendon Transfer and Achilles Tendon Allograft plus Superior Capsular Reconstruction using Long Head Biceps Autograft for Massive Irreparable Rotator Cuff Posterosuperior Tears: The "Pull-Over" Technique.Arthroscopy techniques · 2025Article
- Arthroscopic Repair Versus Conservative Treatment in Degenerative Cuff Tears: Midterm Results.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Position Paper of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (SIOT) on the Treatment of Rotator Cuff Tears.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2025Review
- Plasma Nerve Growth Factor Is Associated With Early Postoperative Shoulder Stiffness in Patients With Degenerative Rotator Cuff Tears.Journal of clinical laboratory analysis · 2025Article
- Rotator Cuff Repair With Platelet-Rich Plasma Is Associated With Lower Retear Rates When Compared With Rotator Cuff Repair With Patch Augmentation: A Systematic Review.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2025Review
- Efficacy of arthroscopic deep rotator cuff suture with spinal needle for rotator cuff repair in treating rotator cuff tears.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
- [Rotator cuff lesion-Is cuff repair indicated in patients with rheumatic diseases?]Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2025Article
- 3D Muscle Volume and 3D Fat Fraction After Successful and Failed Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair at 5-Year Follow-up.The American journal of sports medicine · 2025Article
- Real-world clinical and economic impacts of delayed rotator cuff repair surgery in Japan: analysis of a large claims database.JSES reviews, reports, and techniques · 2025Article
- A new attempt to treat Ellman III PASTA lesions: arthroscopic side-to-side anastomosis of longitudinal split tendon.Journal of surgical case reports · 2025Article
- Consensus Guidelines from the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience for the Use of 60-Day Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Therapy. A NEURON Living Guideline Project.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING REVERSE SHOULDER ARTHROPLASTY.Acta ortopedica brasileira · 2025Review
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Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionWe review the literature and highlight the important factors to consider when counselling patients with non-traumatic rotator cuff tears on which route to take. Factors include the clinical outcomes of surgical and non-surgical routes, tendon healing rates with surgery (radiological outcome) and natural history of the tears if treated non-operatively.
methodsA PRISMA-compliant search was carried out, including the online databases PubMed and Embase™ from 1960 to the end of June 2018.
findingsA total of 49 of the 743 (579 PubMed and 164 Embase™) results yielded by the preliminary search were included in the review. There is no doubt that the non-surgical route with an appropriate physiotherapy programme has a role in the management of degenerative rotator cuff tears. This is especially the case in patients with significant risk factors for surgery, those who do not wish to go through a surgical treatment and those with small, partial and irreparable tears. However, rotator cuff repair has a good clinical outcome with significant improvements in pain, range of motion, strength, quality of life and sleep patterns.
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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.