Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39836369›Full record

SynthesisThe American journal of sports medicine2025

The Statistical Fragility of Functional Outcomes for Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair With and Without Acromioplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

David S Clark, Benjamin C Tingey, Jeffrey L Shi, Jeremy S Somerson

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The American journal of sports medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

4 authors.

David S ClarkJohn Sealy School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA.
Benjamin C TingeyParkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois, USA.
Jeffrey L ShiDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA.
Jeremy S SomersonDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundViews surrounding acromioplasty at the time of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (RCR) have shifted dramatically over time. In recent years, various studies have argued against acromioplasty, citing equivocal functional outcomes after arthroscopic RCR with or without acromioplasty. PURPOSE: To assess the statistical fragility of functional outcomes after arthroscopic RCR with and without acromioplasty using the reverse continuous fragility index (RCFI). STUDY

designSystematic review and meta-analysis; Level of evidence, 3.

methodsA systematic review and meta-analysis was performed including all randomized controlled trials through February 5, 2024 investigating arthroscopic RCR with and without acromioplasty. The RCFI, defined as the number of qualifying data points required to be moved from the lower mean group to the higher mean group to alter the significance, was calculated for the Welch

resultsA total of 6 clinical trials consisting of 609 patients with functional outcome scores were analyzed. Using the Welch

conclusionThe fragility of these studies was largely dependent on the statistical test used to analyze the results. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Student

Indexed as

AcromionArthroscopyRotator Cuff InjuriesHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRecovery of FunctionRotator CuffTreatment Outcomeacromioplastyarthroscopic surgeryrotator cuffstatistical analysisstatistics

Identifiers

PMID39836369
PMCPMC12311245

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Registered trials

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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.