Incidence of rotator cuff tears in the setting of calcific tendinopathy on MRI: a case controlled comparison

ObjectiveTo compare the incidence of rotator cuff tears on shoulder MRI in patients who have rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy with that in patients without calcific tendinopathy in a frequency-matched case-control study.Materials and methodsRetrospective review shoulder MRIs of 86 patients with rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy and an 86-patient age-, gender-, and laterality-matched control group using frequency matching.ResultsNo statistically significant difference (odds ratio: 0.72, 95% confidence interval: 0.38-1.38, p=0.32) was found in the incidence of rotator cuff tear in the calcific tendinopathy (27.9%) and control groups (34.9%). A significant (p<0.001) difference in the size of rotator cuff tear was seen between the two groups, with 12.5% of tears being full-thickness in the calcific tendinopathy group and 63.3% of tears being full-thickness in the control group. Only 3 of the 24 (12.5%) rotator cuff tears present in the calcific tendinopathy group occurred at the site of tendon calcification.ConclusionPatients presenting with indeterminate shoulder pain and rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy are not at increased risk for having a rotator cuff tear compared with similar demographic patients without calcific tendinopathy presenting with shoulder pain. Calcific tendinopathy and rotator cuff tears likely arise from different pathological processes.