J Korean Shoulder Elbow Soc.  2007 Jun;10(1):27-32.

What are Valuable Positive Signs of Supraspinatus Test for Diagnosis of Torn Rotator Cuff?: Comparison of Pain and Weakness in "Empty Can Test" and "Full Can Test"

• Shin HK
• Kim E
• Jeong HJ
• Kim JM
• Choi JY
• Lee YT

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the validity of positive signs of supraspinatus test.
Materials and Methods
The empty can test and full can test were performed on 200 shoulders which were diagnosed with magnetic resonance imaging or surgical findings as full thickness tear, partial thickness tear and no tear. Presence of pain, weakness, pain or weakness, and both pain and weakness were recorded as positive signs separately. The two tests with positive signs were compared and analyzed.
Results
Pain and weakness were severity-dependent, and the empty-can test had a higher incidence of pain. The sensitivities of the two supraspinatus tests in all positive signs were higher when including partial-thickness tears in the tear group; however, their specificities were higher when excluding partial-thickness tears. The sensitivities of an empty-can test in 'pain', 'pain or weakness', both pain and weakness were higher than those of the full-can test, otherwise, the specificity of the full-can test for pain' and 'pain or weakness' were higher. Concordance rate between 'pain or weakness' and 'pain' was the highest in all categorization.
Conclusion
Both empty can and full can test were valuable for detecting torn rotator cuff.

Keyword

Supraspinatus test; Empty can test; Full can test

MeSH Terms

Diagnosis*
Incidence
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Rotator Cuff*
Sensitivity and Specificity
Shoulder