Shoulder procedure: is the steroid shot necessary?
NCT ID NCT02403856
First seen Sep 14, 2026 · Last updated Sep 15, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Calcific tendinitis of the rotator cuff causes long-lasting shoulder pain when calcium builds up in a tendon. A common treatment is ultrasound-guided needling and lavage to break up and flush out the deposit, often followed by a corticosteroid injection to prevent a pain flare. Researchers are testing whether that steroid injection actually reduces pain in the week after the procedure compared with a saline injection. The trial enrolls 136 adults with shoulder pain for at least three months and a calcium deposit of at least 5 mm, and it tracks pain scores, anti-inflammatory use, deposit size, and frozen shoulder.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- methylprednisolone acetate (a corticosteroid) compared with saline, both given after ultrasound-guided needling and lavage
- What this could lead to
- If the steroid injection adds no benefit, doctors could skip it, sparing patients a drug that may weaken tendons and raise infection risk.
- What could go wrong
- The trial may show the steroid does help acute pain, or that any difference is too small to matter. Results apply only to this specific procedure and population.
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
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Phase 4
Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.
- Participants
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136 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Apr 2015
- Finished
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Nov 2017
- Lead sponsor
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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
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Shoulder pain for at least 3 month * Positive Hawkins, Yocum and/or Neer test for impingement * Calcific deposit \>= 5 mm on shoulder x-ray in one the tendon of the rotator cuff Exclusion Criteria: * Allergy to lidocaïne or methylprednisolone acetate * Acute pain suggestive of resorption of the calcification with ill-defined - calcification on X-Ray * Other shoulder diseases : ostearthritis of the gleno-humeral or acromio-clavicular joint * Sonographic findings of rotator cuff tear * Subacromial steroid injection in the previous month * Uncontrolled diabetes * Pregnant women * Contraindication for the use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs or paracetamol/acetaminophene
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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La Roche sur Yon Hospital
La Roche-sur-Yon, France
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Nantes University Hospital
Nantes, 44093, France
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Rennes University hospital
Rennes, France