NCT02592629

The Efficacy of Local Anesthetics to Reduce Shoulder Pain Post-Steroid Injections

• Status: Terminated
• Phase: Phase 4
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 19 (actual)
• Sponsor: Milton S. Hershey Medical Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 70 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The specific aim of this prospective study is to determine whether local anesthetics prior to subacromial steroid injections reduce pain and consequently if they are cost-effective in the treatment for shoulder pathology.

Detailed description

Shoulder pain is a common problem that can be estimated to be prevalent in up to 15 percent of the patient population registered to general practices and is second only to back pain in patients seeking treatment for musculoskeletal issues in the primary care setting. As a common source of distress, shoulder pain contributes significantly to health care costs. Rotator cuff disease due to impingement, tendonitis or bursitis is a frequent cause of shoulder pain and dysfunction. Initial treatment consists of a conservative approach of activity modification, oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and supervised physical therapy. However, if the patients' symptoms persist, subacromial injections of a local anesthetic such as lidocaine, and a corticosteroid may be indicated as a sequential treatment option. The steroid injection itself can be a painful process, so administering a local anesthetic prior to the steroid injection is thought to mitigate pain or reduce possible discomfort during and immediately following the procedure. Though there is evidence advocating for the benefits of combining local anesthetics and corticosteroids for the treatment of subacromial pathologies, it is not conclusive whether local anesthesia significantly enhances the pain relieving effect of steroids. Should local anesthesia not have a significant impact on the patient's pain intensity, then the use of corticosteroids alone could potentially result in reduced costs in care.

Conditions

• Shoulder Pain

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	lidocaine	used with Kenalog in shoulder injection and as topical anesthetic as subcutaneous injection
DRUG	ethyl chloride	topical spray
DRUG	Kenalog	used with lidocaine in shoulder injection

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-02-01
• Primary completion: 2017-06-20
• Completion: 2017-06-20
• First posted: 2015-10-30
• Last updated: 2018-10-16
• Results posted: 2018-09-10

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States