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Can a steroid cocktail beat the standard nerve block for knee replacement pain?

NCT ID NCT05736549

Symptom relief Sponsor: Yale University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

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 Results may not be published yet.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This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.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 Jul 23, 2026 · Last updated Jul 24, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This trial compares two types of nerve blocks for pain control after bilateral total knee replacement. One combines a standard numbing medication with two steroids, the other uses a long-acting liposomal bupivacaine. Researchers want to see if the steroid-enhanced block provides better pain relief and reduces the need for opioids in the days after surgery. About 66 adults scheduled for double knee replacement will take part.

What this could mean

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

Active substance
a steroid-enhanced nerve block combining bupivacaine, dexamethasone sodium phosphate, and methylprednisolone acetate
What this could lead to
If it works, this could offer a longer-lasting, more effective pain relief option for people undergoing double knee replacement, potentially reducing opioid use.
What could go wrong
This is a small Phase 2 trial, so results may not apply broadly. Steroid injections near nerves carry rare risks of nerve damage or infection.

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 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

About 66 people

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

Started

Feb 2023

Expected to finish

Mar 2028

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

18 years and older

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: * American Society of Anesthesiologists status I, II and III, elective, primary, bilateral TKA planned for spinal anesthesia with plain 0.5% bupivacaine. Exclusion Criteria: * Refusal of consent * Pregnancy * Conditions making the patient unable to fill out questionnaire online, through email or over the phone including with cognitive dysfunction, psychiatric disorder, or non-English speaking patients, or lack of internet access which would prevent post discharge follow-up electronically * Coagulopathy * Allergy to or for any other reasons cannot use Acetaminophen, Celebrex, local anesthetic bupivacaine, DEX, MPA or LB * Patients on any amounts of opioids within one month of the surgery date, any substance abuse such as regular marijuana user (more frequent than once per month) * Insulin dependent or uncontrolled diabetes defined as, day of surgery finger stick glucose \>200mg/dl, or HbA1C \> 8.0% * Peripheral Nerve Block site or systemic infection * Immune compromise (e.g., HIV, chronic glucocorticoid use) * Severe pre-existing neuropathy * TKA for indications other than osteoarthritis such as post-traumatic injury or rheumatoid arthritis, history of surgery in the ipsilateral knee joint, revision TKA or bilateral TKA * Severe hepatic or renal dysfunction (GFR \<50 ml/min) * Actual body weight \<60 kg * Patients with active or latent peptic ulcers, diverticulitis, fresh intestinal anastomoses, and non-specific ulcerative colitis

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

osteoarthritis, knee

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Knee arthroplasty Total knee replacement

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Yale New Haven Hospital Saint Raphael Campus

    RECRUITING

    New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, United States

  • Yale New Haven Hospital York Street Campus

    RECRUITING

    New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, United States

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