1. Comparison of MRI, US and MRA for detection of any rotator cuff tears (partial or full thickness) using all studies (indirect comparison).
| Index test | Studies | Shoulders | Cases | Summary sensitivity (95% CI) | Summary specificity (95% CI) | LR+ | LR– | Test1 |
| Any rotator cuff tears | ||||||||
| MRI | 6 | 347 | 263 | 98 (92, 99) | 79 (68, 87) | 5 (2, 10) | 0.03 (0.01, 0.11) | P = 0.13 |
| US | 13 | 854 | 626 | 91 (83, 95) | 85 (74, 92) | 6 (3, 12) | 0.11 (0.05, 0.22) | |
| Full thickness tears | ||||||||
| MRI | 7 | 368 | 193 | 94 (85, 98) | 93 (83, 97) | 13 (6, 29) | 0.06 (0.02, 0.16) | P = 0.7 |
| MRA | 3 | 183 | 107 | 94 (80, 98) | 92 (83, 97) | 12 (5, 30) | 0.06 (0.02, 0.23) | |
| US | 10 | 729 | 386 | 92 (82, 96) | 93 (81, 97) | 12 (5, 34) | 0.09 (0.04, 0.20) | |
| Partial tears | ||||||||
| MRI | 6 | 347 | 83 | 74 (59, 85) | 93 (84, 97) | 10 (4, 26) | 0.28 (0.17, 0.48) | P = 1.00 |
| US | 8 | 660 | 121 | 52 (33, 70) | 93 (85, 97) | 8 (3, 19) | 0.52 (0.33, 0.80) | |
1 Likelihood ratio test for evidence of a difference in sensitivity and/or specificity between the tests.
LR+ = positive likelihood ratio; LR– = negative likelihood ratio