NCT01706978

Brief Summary

This Clinical Trial is being conducted to study two adjunctive treatments for rotator cuff repair; soft tissue and bone trephination. "Trephination" is a procedure that involves making small perforations either in the torn tendon near its edge, or in the bone that the tendon is repaired to. The rotator cuff is repaired by sewing the tendon down to the bone in the shoulder. Trephination is a new technique that is used in addition to the standard method of repairing the rotator cuff tendon. This study will help to determine whether this technique improves the speed of healing, the strength and the re-tear rate of the repair. You are being asked to take part in this study because you have a tear of the rotator cuff that requires surgical treatment. A total of 90 participants will participate in this study.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
176

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Apr 2012

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

April 1, 2012

Completed
4 months until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

July 24, 2012

Completed
3 months until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 15, 2012

Completed
5.9 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

September 1, 2018

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

September 1, 2018

Completed
1.7 years until next milestone

Results Posted

Study results publicly available

May 6, 2020

Completed
Last Updated

September 18, 2020

Status Verified

September 1, 2020

Enrollment Period

6.4 years

First QC Date

July 24, 2012

Results QC Date

March 25, 2020

Last Update Submit

September 16, 2020

Conditions

Keywords

rotator cuff tear

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index

    The Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index (WORC) is a disease specific evaluation, proven to be an accurate and valid assessment of function after shoulder replacement. The WORC is a patient-reported measure, 19-question survey. Each question is measured using a visual analog scale rated from 0-100, where higher scores mean better outcome. These scores are combined and translated into a percentage out of 100. A higher total score indicates a better outcome.

    From baseline to up until 24-Months Post-Operative

Secondary Outcomes (3)

  • American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Standardized Shoulder Assessment Form (ASES) Scores

    From baseline to up until 24-Months Post-Operative

  • The Constant Score

    From baseline to up until 24-Months Post-Operative

  • Healing Rates

    From surgery to up until 24-Months Post-Operative

Study Arms (2)

Soft Tissue Trephination

EXPERIMENTAL

Ten days prior to the standard rotator cuff repair, a trephination procedure will be carried out. The trephination procedure will take approximately 30 minutes to complete and will be carried out under local anesthesia. A needle will be placed through the skin over the shoulder and either into the bone or into the edge of the cuff tendon, depending on whether you are allocated to the "bone trephination" or "soft tissue trephination" groups. The needle will be used to make 6 small holes in either bone or the tendon in the shoulder in the area where the cuff is to be repaired.

Procedure: Soft Tissue Trephination

Bone Trephination

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Ten days prior to the standard rotator cuff repair, a trephination procedure will be carried out. The trephination procedure will take approximately 30 minutes to complete and will be carried out under local anesthesia. A needle will be placed through the skin over the shoulder and either into the bone or into the edge of the cuff tendon, depending on whether you are allocated to the "bone trephination" or "soft tissue trephination" groups. The needle will be used to make 6 small holes in either bone or the tendon in the shoulder in the area where the cuff is to be repaired.

Procedure: Bone Trephination

Interventions

Bone Trephination
Soft Tissue Trephination

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 90 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Patients who have failed standard non-surgical management of their rotator cuff tear, and who would benefit from a surgical repair of the cuff.
  • Failed medical management will be defined as persistent pain and disability despite adequate standard non-operative management for 6 months.
  • Medical management will be defined as:
  • The use of drugs including analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
  • Physiotherapy consisting of stretching, strengthening and local modalities (ultrasound, cryotherapy, etc)
  • Activity modification
  • Imaging, and intra-operative findings confirming a full thickness tear of the rotator cuff.

You may not qualify if:

  • Characteristics of the cuff tear that render the cuff irrepairable: fatty infiltration in the muscles grade III (50%) or greater; superior subluxation of the humeral head; retraction of the cuff to the level of the glenoid rim.
  • Partial thickness cuff tears.
  • Significant shoulder comorbidities e.g. Bankart lesion, osteoarthritis
  • Previous surgery on affected shoulder e.g. Previous rotator cuff repair.
  • Patients with active worker's compensation claims
  • Active joint or systemic infection
  • Significant muscle paralysis
  • Rotator cuff tear arthropathy
  • Charcot's arthropathy
  • Significant medical comorbidity that could alter the effectiveness of the surgical intervention (eg. Cervical radiculopathy, polymyalgia rheumatica)
  • Major medical illness (life expectancy less then 1 year or unacceptably high operative risk)
  • Unable to speak or read English/French
  • Psychiatric illness that precludes informed consent
  • Unwilling to be followed for 1 year
  • Advanced physiologic age

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

The Ottawa Hospital

Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8L6, Canada

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Campbell TM, Lapner P, Dilworth FJ, Sheikh MA, Laneuville O, Uhthoff H, Trudel G. Tendon contains more stem cells than bone at the rotator cuff repair site. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2019 Sep;28(9):1779-1787. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2019.02.008. Epub 2019 Apr 26.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Rotator Cuff Injuries

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

RuptureWounds and InjuriesShoulder InjuriesTendon Injuries

Limitations and Caveats

The sample size achieved would have detected a clinically significant difference based on power analysis but remains susceptible to type II error. The lack of a prospective control group also restricts the interpretation of the study finding.

Results Point of Contact

Title
Dr. Peter Lapner
Organization
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Study Officials

  • Peter Lapner, MD

    The Ottawa Hospital

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
  • Guy Trudel, MD

    University of Ottawa

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

PI is Sponsor Employee
Yes

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

July 24, 2012

First Posted

October 15, 2012

Study Start

April 1, 2012

Primary Completion

September 1, 2018

Study Completion

September 1, 2018

Last Updated

September 18, 2020

Results First Posted

May 6, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-09

Locations