The prevalence of acromial spurs in relation to study type and specimens examined

• Abdulrahman Alraddadi ; Abduelmenem Alashkham ; Clare Lamb ^[1] ; Roger Soames
  1. [1] University of Dundee

     University of Dundee

     Reino Unido

     
• Localización: European Journal of anatomy, ISSN-e 1136-4890, Vol. 24, Nº. 6, 2020, págs. 459-465
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Advanced cases of subacromial impingement syndrome usually present with acromial spurs. However, previous studies have reported varia-tions in the prevalence of acromial spurs in shoul-ders with or without subacromial impingement syn-drome as well as with age, sex, and side. There-fore, this study is aimed at investigating the preva-lence of acromial spurs in cadaveric shoulders and reviewing the factors leading to the reported varia-ble frequencies. The study examined 220 cadaver-ic shoulders (110 male and 110 female), with a median age of 82 years (with a range of 53 to 102 years). In 155 shoulders, the rotator cuff tendons were evaluated for tears; acromial spurs were ob-served in 95 shoulders (43%). No significant asso-ciation was observed between the prevalence of acromial spurs and sex or side. However, a signifi-cant prevalence of spurs (57%) was observed in the oldest-old group, aged ≥ 85 years. Those with acromial spurs also tended to be older (84 years) than those without spurs (81 years). A significant difference in the prevalence of acromial spurs was observed in shoulders with rotator cuff tears com-pared to those without them: 80% compared to 20%, respectively. Analysis showed a significantnumber of acromial spurs in shoulders with full-thickness tears (46%) and partial tears (34%). A significant prevalence of acromial spurs was found in shoulders with rotator cuff tears, as well as in aged shoulders. In relevant literature, the preva-lence of acromial spurs varies with the type of study undertaken, age, prevalence of rotator cuff tears, and type of radiograph examined.