Long Term Prognosis of MRI Diagnosed Partial Thickness Tears of the Rotator Cuff

Long Term Prognosis of MRI Diagnosed Partial Thickness Tears of the Rotator Cuff

Patients diagnosed with partial thickness tears of the rotator cuff are sometimes surgically repaired, while other cases are not. It is unknown how patients fare over time without electing surgical repair and how outcomes differ by type of injury.

We plan to conduct a retrospective cohort study to assemble a research database of all patients with shoulder pain from 1/1/02-12/31/06 presenting at the Hershey Medical Center. Participants will be identified using billing codes in the medical records office, with inclusion/exclusion criteria as described above. Data extraction will include medical record number, demographic data (age, race/ethnicity, sex, insurance type), pre-fracture functional status, pre-admission residence, medical co-morbidities, prior hospitalization within 30 days, abnormal clinical findings on admission, shoulder score, pain score, range of motion score, type of diagnosis (partial tear, full thickness tear, tendonitis, shoulder pain), occupation, past medical history, physical therapy and duration of physical therapy, cigarette/cigar use, drug use, alcohol use, treatment protocols (anti-inflammatory medication, injections, etc.), and complaints by patient of pain status.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients examined at the Hershey Medical Center from 1/1/02-12/31/06 with a documented MRI report of a partial thickness tear of the rotator cuff that was treated non-operatively.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Full thickness tear of the rotator cuff, surgically repaired rotator cuff, and patients who do not fit criteria listed in inclusion criteria.