Steroid shots during knee replacement: which route works best?

NCT ID NCT04432012

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 11, 2026 · Last updated Sep 11, 2026

Summary

Researchers are testing whether giving the steroid dexamethasone during total knee replacement helps with pain, nausea, and recovery, and whether it matters if the drug goes into a vein or is injected around the knee joint. The trial enrolls 159 adults with knee osteoarthritis having their first knee replacement at one hospital. Participants are randomly assigned to receive intravenous dexamethasone, periarticular dexamethasone, or standard care without steroids, and researchers track pain scores, knee function, nausea, hospital stay length, and complications.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
dexamethasone, a steroid given either into a vein or injected around the knee joint
What this could lead to
If one method works better, it could give surgeons a clearer way to reduce pain and nausea after knee replacement, possibly helping patients recover with less discomfort.
What could go wrong
This is a single-center study of 159 people, so results may not apply everywhere. Steroids can raise blood sugar and slightly increase infection risk, and the differences between the three approaches may turn out to be small.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 4

Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.

Participants

About 159 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Jul 2020

Expected to finish

Apr 2033

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

50 to 85 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients undergoing unilateral primary TKA at the Ospedale Regionale di Lugano. * Patients with a BMI \>18.5 and \<35. * Patients able to provide informed consent and follow all the study procedures as indicated by the protocol. * Informed Consent as documented by signature (Appendix Informed Consent Form). Exclusion Criteria: * Contraindications to steroids. * Revision TKA. * Active steroid therapy. * Women who are pregnant or breast feeding. * Presence of other clinically significant concomitant disease states (ASA IV). * Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus * Known or suspected non-compliance, drug or alcohol abuse. * Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems, psychological disorders, dementia, etc. of the participant. * Participation in another study with investigational drug within the 30 days preceding and during the present study. * Previous enrolment into the current study. * Enrolment of the investigator, his/her family members, employees and other dependent persons.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

How to take part

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  1. The places running it

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  2. The official record

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Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Ospedale Regionale di Lugano Civico e Italiano

    RECRUITING

    Lugano, 6900, Switzerland

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