Assessing the current role of AP and Bernageau view radiographs in measurement of glenoid bone loss in patients with recurrent shoulder dislocation: correlation with computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and arthroscopy

Evaluation of glenoid bone loss following recurrent anterior shoulder dislocations is normally performed using cross sectional imaging.

To assess how anteroposterior (AP) and Bernageau view radiographs compare to computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and arthroscopy for evaluating glenoid bone loss in patients with recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation.

A prospective observational study was performed on 32 patients over two years at a tertiary orthopedic center. The loss of sclerotic glenoid rim (LSGL) on AP radiograph and the percentage relative glenoid bone loss on the Bernageau radiograph were assessed. The percentage glenoid bone loss and anterior straight line (ASL) were calculated using a best fit en face circle method using CT and MRI. Percentage glenoid bone loss was also calculated during arthroscopy in multiples of 5%.

In our study, 90.6% (29) patients were males, while only 9.4% (3) were females. This can be attributed to the involvement of the males in outdoor activities and sports. Also, the maximum number of patients were found to belong to 21–30 years of age, with the mean age being 28.66 years. Of the 32 patients, loss of sclerotic glenoid line (LSGL) on AP radiographs correlated with glenoid bone loss on cross-sectional imaging in 27 patients. Three patients had equivocal LSGL and 2 patients with glenoid bone loss on CT did not demonstrate LSGL. The difference between the two modalities was not statistically significant (p value = 0.002). The glenoid bone loss on Bernageau view correlated with glenoid bone loss on cross sectional imaging in all but one patient. The bone loss as evaluated by radiograph Bernageau view was found to have strong correlation (correlation coefficient r = 0.948, p value < 0.0001).

AP and Bernageau radiographic views for anterior shoulder dislocations demonstrate good correlation with glenoid bone loss on cross-sectional imaging. They may also be used as an adjunct to predict overall bone loss on CT and at arthroscopy.