Efficacy of Intra-operative Subacromial Corticosteroid Injections on Surgical Outcomes After Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

This study is designed to assess whether a subacromial injection of corticosteroids at the time of arthroscopic shoulder surgery influences quality of life scores and activity level when compared to a control group. The hypothesis is that intra-operative subacromial corticosteroid injection after arthroscopic subacromial decompression surgery will provide a more rapid improvement in quality of life scores and activity levels in the post-operative period compared with controls. The study will be a placebo-controlled, double-blind prospective study. All patients necessitating arthroscopic shoulder surgery presenting to Dr. Keith Baumgarten's clinics are eligible for participation. If the patient meets the inclusion criteria, then informed consent will be obtained for participation in this study. Each patient will undergo a standard shoulder exam to assess active range of motion and complete demographics and pre-operative patient determined outcomes surveys (1. Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) 2. Simple Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) 3. Western Ontario Rotator Cuff (WORC)) and the Marx shoulder activity level survey (MARX). Patients will then undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery. After arthroscopic surgery the experimental group will undergo a subacromial corticosteroid injection + marcaine while the control group will undergo a subacromial marcaine injection. Outcomes will be assessed using the same quality of life surveys and an activity level survey at post-operative visits at the time intervals: 2 weeks and 3 months and by U.S. mail at 5 months and 1 year. Active range of motion will be assessed at post-operative visits: 2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 3 months. Subjects that meet criteria to undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery will be provided informed consent to receiving either a subacromial corticosteroid injection or placebo injection at the end of surgery. Patients will be expected to complete all pre- and post-operative quality of life surveys and activity level surveys. It will take less than 20 minutes to complete all listed surveys at each pre- and post-operative visit. Active range of motion will be assessed at each post-operative visit and subjects will be expected to take part in this physical examination as well. The duration of subject participation is 1 year from the date of initial surgery.