A Quantitative Fatty Infiltration Evaluation of the Supraspinatus Muscle: Enhanced Clinical Relevance and Improved Diagnostic Value on Predicting Retear Compared With the Goutallier Classification

作者：Jianhao Xie, Meng Zhou, Zhe Guo, Yiming Zhu, Chunyan Jiang · 发表于：The American Journal of Sports Medicine · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1177/03635465251313809 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：Shoulder Injury and Treatment、Hip disorders and treatments、Scoliosis diagnosis and treatment

Background: Preoperative assessment of fatty degeneration is important for managing rotator cuff tears. The Goutallier classification is semiquantitative and observer dependent. Discrepancies among surgeons can be prominent. A quantitative method may improve accuracy and reliability in evaluating the exact percentage of fatty infiltration (Fat%). Hypothesis/Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the new quantitative method and the Goutallier classification in assessing fatty infiltration (FI) of the supraspinatus muscle and to explore the use of this method in predicting retear after rotator cuff repair. It was hypothesized that the new method would significantly correlate with the Goutallier classification and be more sensitive to retear. Study Design: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence; 3. Methods: This study included 105 patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair for large to massive tears. All patients underwent routine preoperative and 1-year postoperative magnetic resonance imaging and were divided into 2 groups according to tendon healing. Preoperative quantitative Fat% of the supraspinatus muscle was evaluated based on the signal intensity (SI) of the T1-weighted sequence. The Fat% was calculated using the following equation: SI supraspinatus = SI fat × Fat% + SI muscle × (1 – Fat%). The correlation between the Fat% and the Goutallier grade was determined. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify t...