NCT05563155

Brief Summary

The aim of the study is to compare the effect of a repeat moderate dose of glucocorticoids postoperatively after preoperative high dose upon postoperative pain after Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) in an High Pain Respondes (HPR) population to a standard single high dose systemic preoperative administration in an HPR population. As a standard procedure, all patients referred to the outpatient clinic due to suspected degenerative knee disease will be asked to fulfill the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). If TKA is decided, patients with a PCS score above 20 will be treated with intravenously administered Dexamethasone 1 mg/kg as a rounded-up-dose to closest 10 mg according to our guideline for FAST-TRACK TKA. The repeat-dosing group (RDG) will receive a dose of 24 mg dexamethasone tablets at 9-11 pm on the first postoperative day. The control-group (CG) will receive placebo tablets at 9-11 pm on the first postoperative day.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

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

Enrollment
110

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for phase_4

Timeline
Completed

Started Nov 2021

Typical duration for phase_4

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

November 1, 2021

Completed
11 months until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

September 16, 2022

Completed
17 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 3, 2022

Completed
1.5 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

March 22, 2024

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

March 22, 2024

Completed
Last Updated

June 28, 2024

Status Verified

June 1, 2024

Enrollment Period

2.4 years

First QC Date

September 16, 2022

Last Update Submit

June 27, 2024

Conditions

Keywords

DexamethasonrepeatglucocorticoidsTKA surgerysteroidsHigh Pain Responderspostoperative painrepeat dosingFAST-TRACK

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Postoperative pain after 48 hours / day 2 morning, according to VAS-scale

    The amount of patients with moderate postoperative pain in a 5 meter walk test day 2 morgning(48 hours) postoperatively after total knee-arthroplasty. Pain is monitored by the Visual Analog Scale(VAS) 0-100 mm, where 0 is no pain and 100 mm is the worst pain. Moderate pain is considered a VAS \>30 mm.

    Day 2 morning

Secondary Outcomes (8)

  • Cumulated pain upon ambulation, according to VAS-scale (0-100mm), in a 5-meter walk test

    From day 2-3

  • Cumulated pain score, according to VAS-scale (0-100mm), at rest, upon ambulation in a 5-meter walk test and at night according to VAS-scale(0-100mm)

    From day 2-7

  • Quality of sleep, lethargy, dizziness, and nausea postoperative registration, according to the VAS-scale(0-100mm)

    From day 2-7

  • Cumulative use of rescue analgesics per day.

    From day 2-7

  • Patient satisfaction with analgesic regimen in a ordinal scale from 0 to 10

    Day 7

  • +3 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (2)

Placebo tablet on day 1 after surgery given as one single dose.

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Control Group (CG): Intervention: Postoperative oral placebo tablet on day 1 after surgery given as one single dose.

Drug: Placebo

Dexamethasone 24 mg on day 1 after surgery given as one single dose.

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Repeat Dose Group (RDG): Intervention: Postoperative oral dexamethasone 24 mg on day 1 after surgery given as one single dose.

Drug: Dexamethasone 24 mg

Interventions

Dexamethasone 24 mg on day 1 after surgery.

Also known as: Dexa-ratiopharm
Dexamethasone 24 mg on day 1 after surgery given as one single dose.

Placebo tablet given on day 1 after surgery.

Placebo tablet on day 1 after surgery given as one single dose.

Eligibility Criteria

Age40 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Age ≥ 40 years.
  • Primary unilateral TKA.
  • Ability to participate in the study (understand written and spoken Danish language, self-reported pain and satisfaction).
  • Signed written informed consent form.
  • PCS \>20.
  • Moderate to severe postoperative pain (VAS \>30) in a 5-meter walk test 22-26 hours after end of surgery.

You may not qualify if:

  • Ongoing treatment of systemic glucocorticoids or other immunosuppressant treatment apart from inhaled steroids.
  • Insulin-dependent diabetes.
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding.\*
  • Allergies concerning the study-drug.
  • Mental disability that could impair a patient's decision-making capability of giving informed consent and not enabling valid data collection.
  • Patients with known diagnoses of schizophrenia, ongoing psychosis, bipolar disease and/or a history of ongoing anti-psychotic treatment.
  • Patients with modulated pain-reception (experience) based on other diseases or injuries, e.g. spinal cord or brain injury, severe polyneuropathies or neurologic disorders.
  • Peripheral nerve block per- or postoperatively.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Vejle Hospital. Orthopedic Surgery Department. Clinical Research Unit

Vejle, 7100, Denmark

Location

Related Publications (27)

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    PMID: 24258688BACKGROUND
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    BACKGROUND
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    PMID: 20832052BACKGROUND
  • Xu H, Zhang S, Xie J, Lei Y, Cao G, Pei F. Multiple Doses of Perioperative Dexamethasone Further Improve Clinical Outcomes After Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study. J Arthroplasty. 2018 Nov;33(11):3448-3454. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2018.06.031. Epub 2018 Jul 4.

    PMID: 30033064BACKGROUND
  • Li D, Zhao J, Yang Z, Kang P, Shen B, Pei F. Multiple Low Doses of Intravenous Corticosteroids to Improve Early Rehabilitation in Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Knee Surg. 2019 Feb;32(2):171-179. doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1636506. Epub 2018 Mar 7.

    PMID: 29514368BACKGROUND
  • Xu B, Ma J, Huang Q, Huang ZY, Zhang SY, Pei FX. Two doses of low-dose perioperative dexamethasone improve the clinical outcome after total knee arthroplasty: a randomized controlled study. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2018 May;26(5):1549-1556. doi: 10.1007/s00167-017-4506-x. Epub 2017 May 4.

    PMID: 28474088BACKGROUND
  • Dissanayake R, Du HN, Robertson IK, Ogden K, Wiltshire K, Mulford JS. Does Dexamethasone Reduce Hospital Readiness for Discharge, Pain, Nausea, and Early Patient Satisfaction in Hip and Knee Arthroplasty? A Randomized, Controlled Trial. J Arthroplasty. 2018 Nov;33(11):3429-3436. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2018.07.013. Epub 2018 Jul 19.

    PMID: 30078660BACKGROUND
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    PMID: 31563397BACKGROUND
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    PMID: 28647788BACKGROUND
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    PMID: 29258763BACKGROUND
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    PMID: 31802486BACKGROUND
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  • Springborg AH, Varnum C, Nielsen NI, Rasmussen LE, Kjaersgaard-Andersen P, Pleckaitiene L, Gromov K, Troelsen A, Kehlet H, Foss NB. Repeat-dose dexamethasone to prevent pain relapse after total knee arthroplasty in high-pain-response patients: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled superiority trial. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2025 Jul 1;42(7):599-608. doi: 10.1097/EJA.0000000000002189. Epub 2025 May 14.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Pain, Postoperative

Interventions

Dexamethasone

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Postoperative ComplicationsPathologic ProcessesPathological Conditions, Signs and SymptomsPainNeurologic ManifestationsSigns and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

PregnadienetriolsPregnadienesPregnanesSteroidsFused-Ring CompoundsPolycyclic CompoundsSteroids, Fluorinated

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 4
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Masking Details
Blinding The patient, all personnel attending in treatment and care of the patient, the investigators and the sponsor will all be blinded to the study-drug allocation, until all data processing is finished. The randomization-sequence will be stored in a sealed envelope at the Pharmacy at Lillebaelt Hospital who carried out the packaging-process. The randomization personnel have no contact to the patient.
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: A double-blind randomization will be carried out, 5:5 block-randomization, half of which will be allocated to the CG and the other half to RDG. Group 1: Postoperative placebo tablet on day 1 after surgery. Group 2: Postoperative dexamethasone 24 mg tablet on day 1 after surgery.
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

September 16, 2022

First Posted

October 3, 2022

Study Start

November 1, 2021

Primary Completion

March 22, 2024

Study Completion

March 22, 2024

Last Updated

June 28, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-06

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

Yes The individual patient data will be made available in anonymized form.

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
Time Frame
Data will be available from the date of publication

Locations