ABSTRACT:
OBJECTIVE To evaluate and compare the glenoid track method in 3D-reconstructed computed
tomography (3D-CT) scans with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or
arthro-MRI.
METHODS Forty-four shoulders with clinical and radiographic diagnosis of traumatic
anterior instability were assessed using 3D-CT, MRI, and/or arthro-MRI
scans. Glenoid track (GT), Hill-Sachs interval (HSI), and glenoid bone loss
(GBL) were determined by a radiologist using 3D-CT images, and classified as
on-track/off-track. Three surgeons, blinded to the radiologist’s
evaluation, performed the same determinations using MRI/arthro-MRI.
Descriptive analysis, variance analysis, results disagreement analysis, and
receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed.
RESULTS Results from the 4 examiners were fully consistent in 61.4% of the cases.
Magnetic resonance imaging/arthro-MRI diagnosed off-track injuries with 35
to 65% sensitivity and on-track injuries, with 91.67 to 95.83% specificity.
Accuracy ranged from 68.1 to 79.5%. The greatest data divergence occurred
for off-track injuries diagnosed by MRI/arthro-MRI. The greatest data
variability referred to HSI calculation. Higher HSI and GBL values were
associated with greater disagreement among examiners. Hill-Sachs interval
values were lower at MRI/arthro-MRI when compared to 3D-CT. Agreement
between CT and MRI/arthro-MRI for the GT method was only moderate (kappa
value, 0.325-0.579).
CONCLUSION Magnetic resonance imaging/arthro-MRI showed low accuracy and moderate
agreement for the GT method; as such, it should be used with caution by
surgeons.
Keywords: glenoid cavity; anterior shoulder instability; shoulder dislocation.
RESUMO:
OBJETIVO Comparar a avaliação do método
glenoid-track (GT) em exames de tomografia
computadorizada com reconstrução 3-D (TC-3D) com a
avaliação realizada em exames de ressonância
magnética (RM) e/ou artro-ressonância magnética
(ARM).
MÉTODOS Quarenta e quatro ombros com diagnóstico clínico e
radiográfico de instabilidade anterior traumática foram
avaliados por meio de exames de TC-3D, RM e/ou ARM. As variáveis GT,
intervalo de Hill-Sachs (IHS) e a perda óssea da glenoide (POG) foram
realizadas por um médico radiologista, utilizando imagens de TC-3D, e
classificadas em on-track/off-track.
Três cirurgiões cegos à avaliação do
radiologista realizaram o mesmo método utilizando RM/ARM. O estudo
realizou análise descritiva, de variância, de
associação da discordância de resultados, de
concordância e curva característica de operação
do receptor.
RESULTADOS Os resultados dos 4 examinadores foram totalmente concordantes em 61,4%. A
RM/ARM diagnosticou lesões off-track com a
sensibilidade variando de 35 a 65%, e lesões
on-track com a especificidade variando de 91,67 a
95,83%. A acurácia variou de 68,1 a 79,5%. A maior divergência
de dados ocorreu para o diagnóstico por RM/ARM de lesões
off-track. A maior variabilidade dos dados ocorreu para
o cálculo do IHS. Valores maiores de IHS e de POG foram associados a
maior discordância entre os examinadores. A RM/ARM apresentou menor
medida de valores de IHS quando comparado com a TC-3D. Ocorreu apenas
moderada concordância no método GT entre a TC e a RM/ARM
(Kappa 0,325-0,579).
CONCLUSÃO A RM/ARM apresentou baixa acurácia e moderada concordância para
o método GT, devendo ser utilizada com cautela por
cirurgiões.
Palavras-chave: cavidade glenoide; instabilidade anterior do ombro; luxação do ombro.
FIGURES
| Citation: Godinho AC, Godinho PC, França FO, Ribeiro EJS, Toledo DC, Franco GH. Evaluation of the Glenoid Track Tomographic Method in Magnetic Resonance Imaging/Arthro-MRI. 56(06):733. doi:10.1055/s-0040-1716766 |
| Financial Support There was no financial support from public, commercial, or non-profit sources. |
|
Conflict of Interests The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. |
| Received: December 09 2019; Accepted: July 06 2020 |
INTRODUCTION
Proper assessment of patients with traumatic anterior shoulder instability is still a challenge for orthopedists.1 A precise, detailed study of soft tissue and bone lesions in glenohumeral instability requires three-dimensional-reconstructed computed tomography (3D-CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or arthro-MRI scans, which can increase propaedeutic costs, delay and bureaucratize treatment.2
The dynamic interaction between bone losses at the proximal humerus and the glenoid in traumatic anterior shoulder dislocation, the so-called lesion bipolarity, was described in 3D-CT using the glenoid track (GT) concept. This concept has gained prominence in the scientific community for its prognostic ability and role in guiding the appropriate treatment according to the Hill-Sachs lesion (HSL) classification and the glenoid bone loss (GBL) size.3
Considering this method as optimal and in an attempt to reduce costs by the simultaneous evaluation of soft and bone lesions in a single scan, the orthopedic literature tried to replace 3D-CT with MRI/arthro-MRI.3-5 As such, this study aims to compare the GT method performed by shoulder surgeons using MRI/arthro-MRI with the evaluation performed by a radiologist using 3D-CT. Our hypothesis is that GT measurement by MRI/arthro-MRI can be performed accurately and reliably by surgeons in their clinical practice.
MATERIAL
This is a cross-sectional, analytical study with 43 patients and 44 shoulders, selected using a non-probabilistic method (i.e., a convenience sampling), diagnosed with traumatic anterior shoulder instability from March 2015 to September 2018. All patients underwent 3D-CT, MRI, and/or arthro-MRI scans at a single radiology clinic.
Glenoid track, HSI, and GBL calculations, as well as lesion classification as on-track/off-track, were performed in all 3D-CT scans by a single radiologist (R) with more than 10 years of experience in the musculoskeletal system. This analysis was considered the reference standard.
Three shoulder surgeons (C1, C2, and C3) trained in the GT method performed the same calculations in MRI or arthro-MRI scans. All of them were blinded to the results obtained by R or the remaining evaluators. All calculations were performed in a single moment and recorded by 2 4-year residents (R4) in shoulder surgery.
Gender, age, and dominance were not considered. Patients with clinical and radiological diagnosis of traumatic anterior shoulder instability, with complete, documented 3D-CT, MRI, and/or arthro-MRI scans and no previous surgical treatment until the time ofdata analysis were included. Patients evaluated by another radiologist, whose scans were performed at other radiological facilities, and with incomplete information or associated lesions, such as fractures, rotator cuff injuries or glenohumeral arthrosis, were excluded.

METHODS
All CT-3D were performed in a 64- or 128-channel scanner, Siemens Somatom Sensation or Siemens Somatom Definition AS, respectively, (Siemens AG, Munich, Germany) in supine position and with limbs in neutral rotation.
Magnetic resonance imaging and arthro-MRI scans (Magnetom Essenza 1.5 T - Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) were performed in supine position, with the shoulder in neutral rotation, using T2-weighted sequences with or without fat suppression (TR/TE 2280/42, field of view 160 x 100 mm, matrix 384 x 70, 3-mm thickness) in postprocessed axial, sagittal, and coronal views (Kodak Carestream PACS, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil).
Glenoid track, HSI, GBL calculations, and on-track/off-track classifications were performed in 3D-CT scans as described by Di Giacomo et al.3 (►Figure 1A and 1B. The same calculations were performed in MRI/arthro-MRI scans as reported by
Guyftpoulos et al.4 (►Figure 2A and 2B). Glenoid track was determined using the formula GT = 0.83D - d.
Data was analyzed with the IBM SPSS software 23.0. (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). The level of significance was 5% for the entire study. This study was approved by the institutional research ethics committee.
RESULTS
Descriptive analysis None of the 44 shoulders from the sample was excluded from the study. All shoulders were submitted to 3D-CT scans; in addition, 19 (43.2%) and 25 (56.8%) of them also underwent MRI and arthro-MRI scans, respectively. Twenty-four shoulders (65.9%) were classified as on-track, and 20 (45.5%) were deemed off-track by examiner R in 3D-CT scans. Results of the four evaluators were completely consistent in 61.4% of the cases (►Table 1).

| Variable | Frequency | % |
|---|---|---|
| Imaging test | ||
| Computed tomography | 44 | 100.0 |
| MRI | 19 | 43.2 |
| Arthro-MRI | 25 | 56.8 |
| Result - R | ||
| On-track | 24 | 54.5 |
| Off-track | 20 | 45.5 |
| Result - C1 | ||
| On-track | 29 | 65.9 |
| Off-track | 15 | 34.1 |
| Result - C2 | ||
| On-track | 31 | 70.5 |
| Off-track | 13 | 29.5 |
| Result - C3 | ||
| On-track | 36 | 81.8 |
| Off-track | 8 | 18.2 |
| Discordance | ||
| 0 | 27 | 61.4 |
| 1 | 7 | 15.9 |
| 2 | 5 | 11.4 |
| 3 | 5 | 11.4 |
| Total | 44 | 100.0 |

Variance analysis
Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Levene, posthoc Dunnett, and T3 Dunnett’s tests assessed the variation in GT, HSI and GBL results among the four examiners.
There was a statistically significant difference for GT, HSI and GBL values when the results found by the four examiners were compared. The greatest data variability referred to HSI. Mean HSI values were lower at MRI/arthro-MRI when compared to 3D-CT (►Tables 2 and 3).
Posthoc tests showed a statistically significant difference in GT values between R and C3 (p = 0.027) and C1 and C3 (p = 0.039); C3 found significantly higher values than the two other examiners.
For HSI, there was a significant difference between R and C2 (p = 0.017) and R and C3 (p = 0.001), since R found significantly higher values.
As for GBL, there was a difference between C1 and C3 (p = 0.027), since the former found significantly higher values compared to the latter.
Analysis of results disagreement association
A non-parametric correlation analysis was performed to evaluate quantitative variables. To this end, results from R were considered always correct and the number of disagreements with these results was assessed (0-3 disagreements) with the Spearman correlation test.
There was a statistically significant correlation between HSI and GBL, both with a positive coefficient, indicating that higher HSI and GBL values were associated with more disagreements among examiners (►Table 4).
The Pearson chi-squared test assessed qualitative variables. Off-track injuries accounted for 88.24% of the disagreements. This finding demonstrates that the greatest difficulty occurred in the diagnosis by MRI/arthro-MRI of off-track injuries calculated by 3D-CT.
| n | Mean | Median | Standard deviation | Minimum | Maximum | Interquartile range | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examiner R GT | 44 | 20.30 | 20.27 | 2.50 | 12.98 | 27.39 | 3.13 |
| HSI | 44 | 19.64 | 20.21 | 3.61 | 11.32 | 29.01 | 4.17 |
| GBL | 44 | 8.68 | 9.50 | 7.65 | 0.00 | 33.00 | 14.00 |
| Examiner C1 GT | 44 | 20.00 | 19.98 | 3.71 | 2.46 | 26.08 | 3.18 |
| HSI | 44 | 17.36 | 18.35 | 5.72 | 6.35 | 33.84 | 8.16 |
| GBL | 44 | 11.63 | 11.50 | 7.12 | 0.00 | 33.00 | 7.58 |
| Examiner C2 GT | 44 | 20.60 | 20.68 | 2.73 | 12.08 | 25.04 | 4.00 |
| HSI | 44 | 16.62 | 16.10 | 5.39 | 3.78 | 29.82 | 5.70 |
| GBL | 44 | 7.83 | 0.00 | 9.19 | 0.00 | 30.53 | 15.43 |
| Examiner C3 GT | 44 | 21.95 | 22.13 | 2.81 | 15.49 | 30.52 | 3.55 |
| HSI | 44 | 15.69 | 14.51 | 5.30 | 4.79 | 29.35 | 6.46 |
| GBL | 44 | 7.21 | 7.00 | 7.25 | 0.00 | 22.00 | 13.00 |

| n | Mean | Standard deviation | Standard error | 95% Confidence interval for the mean | Minimum | Maximum | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower limit | Upper limit | ||||||||
| GT | R | 44 | 20.30 | 2.50 | 0.38 | 19.54 | 21.06 | 12.98 | 27.39 |
| C1 | 44 | 20.00 | 3.71 | 0.56 | 18.87 | 21.13 | 2.46 | 26.08 | |
| C2 | 44 | 20.60 | 2.73 | 0.41 | 19.76 | 21.43 | 12.08 | 25.04 | |
| C3 | 44 | 21.95 | 2.81 | 0.42 | 21.10 | 22.81 | 15.49 | 30.52 | |
| Total | 176 | 20.71 | 3.04 | 0.23 | 20.26 | 21.17 | 2.46 | 30.52 | |
| HSI | R | 44 | 19.64 | 3.61 | 0.54 | 18.55 | 20.74 | 11.32 | 29.01 |
| C1 | 44 | 17.36 | 5.72 | 0.86 | 15.62 | 19.10 | 6.35 | 33.84 | |
| C2 | 44 | 16.62 | 5.39 | 0.81 | 14.98 | 18.26 | 3.78 | 29.82 | |
| C3 | 44 | 15.69 | 5.30 | 0.80 | 14.08 | 17.30 | 4.79 | 29.35 | |
| Total | 176 | 17.33 | 5.24 | 0.39 | 16.55 | 18.11 | 3.78 | 33.84 | |
| GBL | R | 44 | 8.68 | 7.65 | 1.15 | 6.36 | 11.01 | 0.00 | 33.00 |
| C1 | 44 | 11.63 | 7.12 | 1.07 | 9.46 | 13.79 | 0.00 | 33.00 | |
| C2 | 44 | 7.83 | 9.19 | 1.39 | 5.03 | 10.62 | 0.00 | 30.53 | |
| C3 | 44 | 7.21 | 7.25 | 1.09 | 5.01 | 9.41 | 0.00 | 22.00 | |
| Total | 176 | 8.84 | 7.96 | 0.60 | 7.65 | 10.02 | 0.00 | 33.00 | |

| Correlations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HSI | GBL | Discordance | |||
| Spearman’s ρ | GT | Correlation Coefficient | 0.154 | -0.565 | -0.264 |
| P | 0.320 | 0.000 | 0.084 | ||
| n | 44 | 44 | 44 | ||
| HSI | Correlation Coefficient | 1.000 | 0.177 | 0.434 | |
| P | 0.249 | 0.003 | |||
| n | 44 | 44 | 44 | ||
| GBL | Correlation Coefficient | 0.334 | |||
| P | 0.027 | ||||
| n | 44 | ||||

Concordance analysis Sensitivity values were not very high, ranging from 35 to 65% (►Table 5). The kappa coefficient was statistically significant for all cases. This coefficient describes the agreement between 2 or more tests, with values ranging from 0 to 1. Values close to 0 indicate low agreement, whereas values close to 1 reveal high agreement. The kappa index ranged from 0.325 to 0.579. This means that the GT method using MRI/arthro-MRI images presented only a moderate ability to identify patients with off-track injuries diagnosed at 3D-CT scans.
The positive predictive value (PPV) ranged from 86.67 to 92.31%. The negative predictive value (NPV) ranged from 63.89 to 75.86%. The diagnostic accuracy for offtrack injuries ranged from 68.1 to 79.5% among examiners.
Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve The ROC curve revealed that C3 assessment was the only one with no statistical efficiency in off-track injuries diagnosis (p > 0.05) (►Figure 3). The best classification was performed by C1, which obtained the largest area under the curve. Better test results reflect in an area under the ROC curve closer to 1.
| C1 | C2 | C3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kappa index | 0.579 | 0.575 | 0.325 |
| Sensitivity (%) | 65.00 | 60.00 | 35.00 |
| Specificity (%) | 91.67 | 95.83 | 95.83 |
| Positive predictive value (%) | 86.67 | 92.31 | 87.50 |
| Negative predictive value (%) | 75.86 | 74.19 | 63.89 |
| Positive likelihood ratio | 7.80 | 14.39 | 8.39 |
| Negative likelihood ratio | 0.38 | 0.42 | 0.68 |
| Accuracy | 79.5 | 79.5 | 68.1 |
| p-value | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | 0.014 |

DISCUSSION
Historically, studies on anterior shoulder instability have focused on GBL, which occurs during shoulder dislocation and is also called bony Bankart lesion (BBL).6,7 It is widely accepted that this structural damage alters glenoid biomechanics by impairing its function as a static stabilizer.8 Defects greater than 20 to 25% deserve special attention because of their worse prognosis with arthroscopic repair.6,9 In an anterior dislocation, the shoulder may suffer an impaction fracture at the posterosuperior and lateral portion of the humeral head. This injury is defined as a Hill-Sachs lesion, and it is observed in up to 70% primary shoulder dislocation cases.10,11 Studies reveal that bone defects as small as 5/8 of the humeral head radius may result in shoulder instability.12
Although the importance of HSL and BBL in shoulder biomechanics was demonstrated, the description of the GT method allowed us to understand the dynamic interaction between these bone injuries.13 Today, the GT method is part of the routine practice of most orthopedics services due to its prognostic ability in HSL evaluation and its role in guiding the treatment for anterior shoulder instability.3
Originally, GT and GBL measurements were described for 3D-CT scans to predict engage-type injuries.3,13 However, to reduce costs and radiation exposure, the use of MRI/arthro-MRI have been studied for this purpose.1,4,14
The engagement concept was proposed initially by Burkhart and De Beer7 to explain factors related to instability recurrence after an arthroscopic Bankart surgery. Patients bearing these injuries, with the shoulder in abduction and lateral rotation, would be predisposed to the “engagement” of HSL on the anterior edge of the glenoid, leading to joint instability. Engage lesions correspond to off-track injuries per the GT method.3
In an attempt to make the glenoid track method feasible for MRI, Gyftopoulos et al.4 compared GT classification in 75 shoulders with the engagement observed during arthroscopy. They concluded that MRI has 72.2% sensitivity to diagnose engage (off-track) injuries, 87.9% specificity for non-engage injuries (on-track), and a general accuracy of 84.2%. Positive predictive value was 65% and NPV was 91.1%.
In the present study, MRI/arthro-MRI diagnosed off-track injuries with 35 to 65% sensitivity, and on-track injuries with 91.67 to 95.83% specificity. The accuracy for off-track injuries diagnosis ranged from 68.1 to 79.5%. Positive predictive value revealed a chance of identifying truly off-track patients of at least 86.67%, while NPV showed a chance of identifying truly positive on-track injuries of at least 63.89%. The kappa coefficient was significant in all cases. These results are inferior to those demonstrated by Gyftopoulos et al.4
Schneider et al.15 evaluated intra and interobserver variation in GT measurement in 71 patients submitted to 3D-CT scans. They demonstrated that GBL assessment had good intra and interobserver agreement (94% and 96%, respectively). However, the level of reliability among examiners for on-track and off-track classification was only 72%, which was considered low by the authors. They concluded that GBL assessment had better reproducibility and reliability levels compared to HSL.
Our findings demonstrated that the greatest data variability occurred for HSI calculation in MRI/arthro-MRI scans, consistent with the findings of Schnieder et al.15 with 3D-CT. In addition, we concluded that MRI/arthro-MRI tends to yield lower HSI values when compared to 3D-CT. The proper evaluation of HSL requires several steps and, in our opinion, each one of them presents a potential for error, leading to the low reliability and reproducibility reported in the literature.
Funakoshi et al.16 assessed the GT classification agreement between 3D-CT scans and intraoperative arthroscopic measurements. Of 16 shoulders classified as onor off-track, agreement between both methods was achieved in only 10 shoulders (63%, kappa value = 0.16). All cases with disagree- ment were calculated as on-track by 3D-CT and off-track by arthroscopy. The authors concluded that 3D-CT yields higher GT values compared with arthroscopy, accounting for all discrepancies and the low agreement between methods observed in the study.
Our results revealed a moderate agreement for on-track/-off-track classification between 3D-CT and MRI/arthro-MRI scans (kappa values, 0.325 to 0.579). In our study, most of the discordant results (15 out of 17, or 88.24%) were classified as off-track by 3D-CT and on-track by MRI/arthro-MRI, which may be inadequate to HSL, increasing the risk of instability recurrence. Results from the four examiners were fully consistent in 27 of the 44 shoulders (61.4%) for on-track/off-track classification. Interestingly, higher HSI and GBL values were associated with greater discrepancy among examiners. We believe that this discrepancy can be explained by the evaluators’ difficulty in selecting the most representative bone lesions images, especially in MRI/arthro-MRI, which allows image analysis in only two dimensions, unlike CT.
The evaluator C3 obtained the highest average GT and was the only one not to show statistical efficiency according to the ROC curve. Perhaps, this is why C3 presented the lowest agreement among the examiners (kappa value = 0.325).

To our knowledge, this is the first study to compare the GT method using 3D-CT and MRI/arthro-MRI. Although the available studies use different modalities to compare the GT method, our results are very close to those published in the literature.
Obviously, MRI/arthro-MRI scans for GT classification do not constitute a perfect technique. Our results show that MRI/arthro-MRI tends to yield lower HSI values. In this case, we believe that 3D-CT evaluation overestimates the results because it is unable to identify the exact attachment point of the infraspinatus tendon, used as a reference for measurement. This may explain the difficulty of MRI/arthro-MRI in identifying off-track injuries diagnosed using 3D-CT in our study. This data is highly relevant because, as previously described, these injuries must be addressed using the remplissage technique to reduce the chances of anterior shoulder dislocation recurrence.3
The reasons for GT classification diagnostic failure have been discussed in the literature and may be related to inter and intraobserver variations and to the lack of identification of the attachment point of the rotator cuff for HSI calculation, the medial HSL border and the GBL limit. The GT estimate (the most important component of the technique) has been reported as technically difficult and challenging.4,5
The limitations of this study include its cross-sectional nature, as well as the limited sampling using a non-probabilistic method, which is attributed mainly to the cost of CT and MRI/arthro-MRI scans. The evaluation performed by surgeons, and not just radiologists, and the absence of serial evaluations of the same images constitute measurement bias.
CONCLUSION
The GT method performed in MRI/arthro-MRI revealed low accuracy and moderate agreement to diagnose on-track/offtrack injuries when compared with 3D-CT. The medial border of the infraspinatus tendon and the medial border of the HSL must be carefully determined since the greatest data divergences referred to HSI calculation. Magnetic resonance imaging/arthro-MRI scans tend to yield lower HSI values. The greatest difficulty of the study involved the diagnosis by MRI/arthro-MRI of off-track injuries calculated by 3D-CT. Magnetic resonance imaging/arthro-MRI scans should be used cautiously by shoulder surgeons calculating the glenoid track.


