MedPath

ACCURATE Trial - Operative Treatment of Acute Rotator Cuff Tear Related to Trauma

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Acute Rotator Cuff Tear Related to Trauma
Interventions
Procedure: Placebo surgery and supervised specific exercises
Procedure: Rotator cuff repair and supervised specific exercises
Registration Number
NCT02885714
Lead Sponsor
Turku University Hospital
Brief Summary

Rotator cuff tear is a very common and disabling condition that can be related to acute trauma such as falling on the shoulder. A tear is associated with symptoms such as pain in abduction, abduction weakness and night pain. Rotator cuff tear surgery is a well-established form of treatment in acute rotator cuff tears, although beneficial results have been reported for both conservative and surgical treatment of rotator cuff tears. Rotator cuff tear repair surgery involves a considerable amount of re-ruptures, and it is possible that the repaired tendon do not heal despite surgical repair. On the other hand rotator cuff tears are also found in completely asymptomatic persons and the clinical significance of a rupture may be generally lower than estimated. The above-mentioned factors, as well as recent research and meta-analysis on the treatment of mainly degenerative rotator cuff tears indicate that there is a limited evidence that surgery is not more effective in treating symptomatic rotator cuff tear than conservative treatment alone. However, these previous research findings cannot be applied directly to traumatic tears, although degeneration can be considered always to contribute to the creation of a rotator cuff tear.

During few last decades, despite the lack of evidence on the superiority of one treatment over another, the use of surgery to treat this disorder has been substantially increased. Treatment expectations are found to be important in predicting patient related outcome measures. In addition, surgery itself may produce a profound placebo effect. There are no previous placebo-controlled trials on the topic of interest. In order to find out the true efficacy of surgical treatment of acute, trauma related rotator cuff tears involving mainly the supraspinatus tendon, the investigators have designed this multi-centre, randomized, placebo-controlled efficacy trial.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
180
Inclusion Criteria
  1. Age of patient over 45 and below 70 years
  2. Acute onset of shoulder symptoms after a traumatic event (any kind of sudden stretch, pull, fall, or impact, on the shoulder that is associated with the onset of symptoms)
  3. Shoulder symptoms relating to rotator cuff tear = pain laterally on the shoulder and/or painful motion arc during abduction or flexion
  4. MRI documented full thickness supraspinatus (ssp) tear
Exclusion Criteria
  1. Traumatic event of the shoulder due a criminal act of violence with legal consequences
  2. A delay of more than 4 months after the onset of symptoms of trauma to the day of intervention
  3. Arthroscopically documented partial thickness rotator cuff tear only
  4. A large MRI documented full thickness rotator cuff tear, sagittal tear size at the level of footprint larger than 3cm
  5. MRI or arthroscopically documented total width of infraspinatus (isp) or subscapularis (ssc) tear
  6. MRI or arthroscopically documented fully dislocated biceps tendon (biceps out of the groove) with concomitant subscapularis tear
  7. Positive clinical rotatory lag sign (ER1 lag (>10 degrees), lift off lag (involuntary drop against the back), horn blower lag (involuntary internal rotation of the forearm in supported elevated position))
  8. Marked fatty degeneration in any of the cuff muscles (more than Fuchs/Goutallier grade 2)
  9. Radiographically or MRI documented concomitant fracture line of the involved extremity or bony avulsion of the torn tendon or dislocation of the humeral head or the acromioclavicular joint.
  10. Concomitant clinically detectable motoric nerve injury affecting the shoulder
  11. Radiographically documented severe osteoarthritis of the glenohumeral joint, Samilson-Prieto 2 or above
  12. Non-congruency of the glenohumeral joint in radiographs (Hamada stage 2 or above)
  13. Clinical stiffness of the glenohumeral joint (severely limited passive range of motion: glenohumeral external rotation < 30 degrees, and abduction with stabilized scapula <60 degrees)
  14. Previous surgery of the affected shoulder (affecting clavicle, scapula or upper third of the humerus)
  15. Earlier sonographic or MRI finding of a rotator cuff tear
  16. Previous symptoms of the ipsilateral shoulder requiring conservative treatment (glucocorticosteroid injections and/or physiotherapy) delivered by health care professionals during the last five years
  17. Systemic glucocorticosteroid or antimetabolite medication during the last 5 years
  18. Ongoing treatment for malignancy
  19. ASA classification 3 or 4
  20. Patient's inability to understand written and spoken Finnish, Norwegian or Swedish
  21. History of alcoholism, drug abuse, psychological or other emotional problems likely to jeopardise informed consent
  22. Patients with a contraindication/noncomplience for MRI examination or use of electrocautery devices
  23. Previous randomization of the contralateral shoulder into the ACCURATE trial
  24. Patient's denial for operative treatment and/or participation in the trial

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Group IPlacebo surgery and supervised specific exercisesPlacebo surgery + supervised specific exercises
Group IIRotator cuff repair and supervised specific exercisesRotator cuff repair + supervised specific exercises
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Western Ontario Rotator Cuff index (WORC) compared to baseline at two years.The change of WORC is also compared to baseline at 3 and 6 months, 1 , 2, 5 and 10 years

Patient reported disease specific outcome measure for rotator cuff conditions.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Constant Score3 and 6 months, 1 , 2, 5 and 10 years

Shoulder specific outcome measure combining subjective and objective variables

Numeric rating scale of patients' shoulder pain during the last week at rest, during activity and at night.3 and 6 months, 1 , 2, 5 and 10 years

Subjective pain intensity measure. The numeric pain rating scale (pain NRS). Scale 0 to 10. 0 = no pain and 10 = worst possible pain.

15D3 and 6 months, 1 , 2, 5 and 10 years

Generic health-related quality of life instrument

Subjective patient satisfaction3 and 6 months, 1 , 2, 5 and 10 years

Patient reported scale for treatment satisfaction

Rotator cuff integrity in MRI investigation2, 5 and 10 years
Development of osteoarthritic signs in radiographs2, 5 and 10 years
Development of cuff tear arthropathy in radiographs2, 5 and 10 years

Trial Locations

Locations (17)

Helsinki University Hospital

🇫🇮

Helsinki, Finland

Central Finland Central Hospital

🇫🇮

Jyväskylä, Finland

Kuopio University Hospital

🇫🇮

Kuopio, Finland

Oulu University Hospital

🇫🇮

Oulu, Finland

Satakunta Central Hospital

🇫🇮

Pori, Finland

Hatanpää Hospital

🇫🇮

Tampere, Finland

Tampere University Hospital

🇫🇮

Tampere, Finland

Turku University Hospital

🇫🇮

Turku, Finland

Vaasa Central Hospital

🇫🇮

Vaasa, Finland

Sørlandet sykehus HF

🇳🇴

Arendal, Norway

Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål Hospital

🇳🇴

Oslo, Norway

Martina Hansens Hospital

🇳🇴

Sandvika, Norway

St. Olafs Hospital HF

🇳🇴

Trondheim, Norway

Skånevård Sund, Region Skåne

🇸🇪

Helsingborg, Sweden

Kalmar County Hospital

🇸🇪

Kalmar, Sweden

Linköping University Hospital

🇸🇪

Linköping, Sweden

Varberg Hospital

🇸🇪

Varberg, Sweden

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath