Detailed Search Results

Use the Back button in your browser to see the other results of your search or to select another record.

Swimmer arm-to-shoulder test for early differentiation between shoulder and cervical spine pathology in patients with shoulder pain

Hamoud H, Aly H, Elmotaleb YA, Ghit MM, Mosalam A, Nasrallah TM, El Zokm SM, Fawzy I, Bayoumy AN, Mohamed MS, Elazab SA, Elmesiry AM, Rageh EA, Moussa MA, Elyasaki A, Refaat S, Elhilasy AM, El Deeb AM, Elshaitany W, Eltabiey A

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2024 Nov 21;25(1):940

primary study

BACKGROUND: Several tests have been suggested for screening and diagnosis of cervical spine and shoulder girdle conditions underlying shoulder pain with variable degrees of clinical accuracy. The present study aimed to test the reliability, clinical benefit and screening value of the Swimmer Arm-to-Shoulder (SAS) test; a new clinical test developed to differentiate shoulder impingement from cervical radiculopathy in patients with shoulder pain of <= 12 weeks. METHODS: The study included 718 patients aged 40 to 65 years, with unilateral and localized shoulder girdle pain lasting for <= 12 weeks. Diagnosis based on clinical, electromyography and radiological findings was considered as the reference gold standard for test assessment. RESULTS: Clinical diagnosis identified shoulder pathology in 288 patients (40.1%) and cervical spine pathology in 430 patients (59.9%). SAS test was positive in 274 patients (38.2%). The SAS test proved to be effective in distinguishing shoulder from cervical spine pathology with a sensitivity of 89.2% (95% CI: 85.0 to 92.6%), specificity of 96.1% (95% CI: 93.8 to 97.7%), PPV of 93.8% (95% CI: 90.5 to 96.0%), NPV of 93.0% (95% CI: 90.5 to 94.9%), LR + of 22.6% (95% CI: 14.1 to 36.0%), LR- of 0.11 (95% CI: 0.08 to 0.16) and accuracy of 93.3% (95% CI: 91.2 to 95.0%). CONCLUSIONS: SAS test is an easy to perform, patient dependent and reliable as a screening test and diagnosis confirmatory test.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s): help