Purpose: This study describes a new test to detect SLAP lesions. The sensitivity, specificity,
and positive and negative predictive values with respect to the diagnosis of a SLAP
lesion were determined in comparison to Speed's test and the O'Brien test. Methods: One hundred fifty patients presenting for arthroscopic surgery with persisting pain
or functional disability of the shoulder underwent a complete shoulder examination.
All patients underwent Speed's test, the O'Brien test, and the new supine flexion
resistance test. The clinical results of the tests were correlated with the presence
of a SLAP lesion by direct arthroscopic visualization. Results: The supine flexion resistance test had a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of
69%, whereas Speed's test and the O'Brien test had sensitivities of 60% and 94%, respectively,
and specificities of 38% and 28%, respectively. Regarding isolated SLAP lesions, the
supine flexion resistance test was highly sensitive, with a sensitivity of 92% (58%
for Speed's test and 75% for the O'Brien test). For isolated tears of the supraspinatus,
the specificity of the supine flexion resistance test was 75% (14% for Speed's test
and 17% for the O'Brien test). Conclusions: Compared with the O'Brien test and Speed's test, the supine flexion resistance test
proves to be more specific, with a specificity of 69% for the whole study population
(28% for the O'Brien test and 38% for Speed's test) and with a specificity of 75%
for the group of patients with isolated supraspinatus lesions (17% for the O'Brien
test and 14% for Speed's test). The new test is a useful and effective test for detecting
type II SLAP lesions. The high specificity enables the elimination of false-positive
results of other clinical tests that are more sensitive but not specific. Level of Evidence: Level II, development of diagnostic criteria with consecutive patients and universally
applied gold standard.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 31, 2008
Footnotes
The authors report no conflict of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
