This is a retrospective review of 19 consecutive patients with chronic tennis elbow who underwent preoperative MRI and CT studies and subsequently underwent arthroscopic surgery. The goal was to identify the hypothesis that Computerized Tomography with contrast (CTA) was superior to MRI in accessing capsular tears.
The author found that the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of CTA was superior to MRI. The authors felt that this knowledge would be advantageous for a surgeon to know pre-operatively. The authors conclude that CTA is superior to MRI in determining the presence of a capsular tear. However, it remains to be seen whether this represents a clinical advantage as the presence of a capsular tear may not be predictive of successful treatment with either operative or non-operative modalities. We still do not fully understand epicondylitis or the relative success of various treatment modalities and surgical techniques. It is unclear if more advanced imaging studies changes anything relative to the successful treatment of this condition.