Comparison of shoulder Magnetic Resonance Imaging findings between patients with stage 4 chronic kidney disease and hemodialysis patients with healthy controls

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Shoulder involvement is frequently observed in chronic renal disease (CRD) and hemodialysis patients.

OBJECTIVE:

Our aim is to compare shoulder Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) findings of stage 4 CRD patients naive to dialysis, hemodialysis patients and healthy controls.

METHODS:

Twenty hemodialysis patients with shoulder pain (Group 1), 30 hemodialysis patients without shoulder pain (Group 2), 20 patients with stage 4 CRD (Group 3) and 30 healthy controls (Group 4) were enrolled. Urea, creatinine and $\beta$ 2 microglobulin were measured. Thickness, homogeneity and integrity of rotator cuff and presence of effusion were examined by MRI.

RESULTS:

Supraspinatus tendon was thicker in Group 1 compared to other groups, whereas infraspinatus tendon was thicker in Group 1 compared to Groups 2 and 4. Although all tendons thickness was higher in Group 3 than Group 4, there was no significant difference. Most effusion areas were present in Group 1, followed by Groups 2 and 3. There was a significant correlation between glomerular filtration rate and thickness of supraspinatus, infraspinatus tendons and between $\beta$ 2 microglobulin and thickness of infraspinatus, subscapularis tendons and total number of areas with effusion.

CONCLUSIONS:

Increased shoulder tendon thickness and effusion were detected in symptomatic dialysis patients, while greater effusion areas were detected in asymptomatic dialysis patients and in stage 4 CRD patients who do not require dialysis compared to healthy controls.