Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jun 7;12(1):9404.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-13632-0.

The differences of the acromiohumeral interval between supine and upright radiographs of the shoulder

Prakasit Sanguanjit  1 , Adinun Apivatgaroon  2 , Phanuwat Boonsun  1 , Surasak Srimongkolpitak  1 , Bancha Chernchujit  1
Affiliations

The differences of the acromiohumeral interval between supine and upright radiographs of the shoulder

Prakasit Sanguanjit et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The acromiohumeral interval (AHI) is a measurement used to determine the superior migration of the humeral head in rotator cuff (RC) tear patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the AHI of; supine, upright shoulder radiographs, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the shoulder. The 86 shoulders were divided into 3 groups that included; (1) non-full thickness tear (50%), (2) full thickness (FT) tear ≤3 cm (33.7%), and (3) FT tear > 3 cm (16.3%). The mean difference of AHI noted was significantly lower in the supine radiographs and MRIs than with the upright (1.34-1.37 mm, 1.62-1.87 mm, respectively). Upright AHI ≤ 7.0 mm had 27.9% sensitivity and 100% specificity in diagnosing FT tears with 64% accuracy (p < 0.001). The supine AHI ≤ 6.5 mm had 32.6% sensitivity, 100.0% specificity, and 66.3% accuracy (p < 0.01). The results revealed the AHI in supine radiographs were significantly lower than upright shoulder radiographs. For AHI ≤ 7 mm in upright shoulder radiographs, this remains as an appropriate diagnostic test for ruling in shoulders with full thickness rotator cuff tears. This value was not relevant for use as the cut point in the supine radiographs and MRIs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ROC curve of the AHI measurement from upright and supine radiographs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Goetti P, Denard PJ, Collin P, Ibrahim M, Hoffmeyer P, Lädermann A. Shoulder biomechanics in normal and selected pathological conditions. EFORT Open Rev. 2020;5(8):508–518. doi: 10.1302/2058-5241.5.200006. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Keating JF, Waterworth P, Shaw-Dunn J, Crossan J. The relative strengths of the rotator cuff muscles. A cadaver study. J. Bone Joint Surg. Br. 1993;75(1):137–140. doi: 10.1302/0301-620X.75B1.8421011. - DOI - PubMed
    1. de Oliveira França F, Godinho AC, Ribeiro EJ, Falster L, Búrigo LE, Nunes RB. Evaluation of the acromiohumeral distance by means of magnetic resonance imaging umerus. Revista Brasileira de Ortopedia. 2016;51(2):169–174. doi: 10.1016/j.rboe.2016.01.008. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Saupe N, Pfirrmann CW, Schmid MR, Jost B, Werner CM, Zanetti M. Association between rotator cuff abnormalities and reduced acromiohumeral distance. AJR Am. J. Roentgenol. 2006;187(2):376–382. doi: 10.2214/AJR.05.0435. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hufeland M, Brusis C, Kubo H, Grassmann J, Latz D, Patzer T. The acromiohumeral distance in the MRI should not be used as a decision criterion to assess subacromial space width in shoulders with an intact rotator cuff. Knee Surg. Sports Traumatol. Arthroscopy. 2021;29(7):2085–2089. doi: 10.1007/s00167-020-06090-6. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms