A Phase 4 interventional study of Dexamethasone is a steroid drug and will be administered as an injectable solution (4mg/ml) in Femoral Neck Fractures, sponsored by Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Bellinzona. Recruiting at 1 site in Switzerland. Open to participants aged 50 Years to 90 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-09.
Sponsored by Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Bellinzona · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment
The investigators are going to evaluate if periarticular corticosteroid injection during endoprothesis implantation can lead to any advantage to the patients, namely if it can reduce post-operative pain, lenght and cost of hospitalisation, use of analgesics drugs.
Hip endoprothesis is a common orthopaedic prosthetic procedure, with continuously growing numbers in the last years, and the demand for this procedure is predicted to increase 4-fold by 2030. Recently, major interest has been given to improve postoperative pain management, to decrease the discomfort of the patients and with an outlook for reducing the length of hospital stay and decrease health-care costs. However, postoperative pain management is still problematic after this operation.
Post-operative pain control with the optimization of the analgesia protocol is a key aspect to be addressed to reduce the need for opioid analgesics, to quicken recovery and mobilisation, and to decrease the hospitalization length. To this regard, steroid supplementation is considered effective in decreasing post-operative pain. A recent meta-analysis from our research group on patients with total knee prosthesis proved the efficacy in decreasing post-operative pain. Moreover, a positive effect has been documented in terms of lower incidence of nausea and vomit, less post-operative range of motion limitation, and decreased systemic inflammatory response. All these benefits produced a shortened length of hospital stay without an increased risk of complications such as local infections.
Despite this overall positive effect of steroid supplementation, and their use by other specialties - e.g. anaesthesiology - and while there is now good evidence about the benefits of periarticular hip analgesic injection, e.g. FANS, opioid etc., there is still lacking evidence on the efficacy of periarticular corticosteroids in patients undergoing hip prosthetic replacement. In fact, there is a lack of information in the literature on their effectiveness in terms of pain management and function recovery. Furthermore, the influence of perioperative steroid application on the long-term follow-up results is poorly explored. This is a key issue, since the intensity of acute post-operative pain has been widely related to the risk of developing chronic post-operative pain, and thus the advantages of steroid supplementation, could go beyond the short-term pain relief and be even longer lasting.
This randomized controlled trial will thus investigate the benefit of implementing the peri-operative analgesia protocol not only to improve the acute post-operative recovery and shorten the hospital stay, but also to optimize the overall results after hip endoprosthesis.
207 studies on the registry are indexed under Femoral Neck Fractures; 40 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 110 is close to the median of 100 across 142 interventional studies indexed under Femoral Neck Fractures.
Browse Femoral Neck Fractures studies →Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Bellinzona is the lead sponsor of 38 studies on the registry; 17 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
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You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.
The anaesthetists’ scale of health before surgery: I is healthy, II has a mild illness that is under control, III a severe one, IV a severe illness that is a constant threat to life. V and VI are used for the critically ill and for organ donors.
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.
It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Clinically significant
Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ASA physical status
The anaesthetists’ scale of health before surgery: I is healthy, II has a mild illness that is under control, III a severe one, IV a severe illness that is a constant threat to life. V and VI are used for the critically ill and for organ donors.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Autoimmune disease
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Investigational drug or device
A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.
It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Patient in this group will receive administration of 9 mg dexamethasone injected in the peri-articular tissues after the bone cut for hip endoprosthesis
Drug: Dexamethasone is a steroid drug and will be administered as an injectable solution (4mg/ml)
In this group only routinely performed anaesthesia protocol will be provided
Dexamethasone will be administered as an injectable solution (4mg/ml). Every ml of this solution contains 4 mg of dexamethasone sodium phosphate, corresponding to 3 mg of dexamethasone. Thus 3 ml of solution will be injected peri-articularly (arm-A)
Also known as: Mephameson
Postoperative pain
The mean post-operative daily pain in the first three days after surgery assessed with the 0-10 numeric rating scale (NRS)
Time frame: 3 days after surgery
Hip pain and function on a numeric rating scale (NRS)
Hip pain and general function documented on a 0-10 NRS preoperatively and during the first 3 months, and reported on a 0-10 NRS at 2 and 6 weeks, 3, 6, 12, 24 months
Time frame: Up to 24 months
Hip pain, function and quality of life on Harris Hip Score
hip pain, function and quality of life evaluated by the validated clinical Harris Hip Score preoperatively and at 2 and 6 weeks, and at 3, 6, 12, 24 months postoperatively. The Harris Hip Score is a measure of dysfunction; the maximum score possible is 100 and the higher the score, the better the outcome for the individual.
Time frame: Up to 24 months
Hip pain, function and quality of life on EQ-5D-5L Score
hip pain, function and quality of life evaluated by the validated patient reported outcome measures EQ-5D-5L Scores preoperatively and at 2 and 6 weeks, and at 3, 6, 12, 24 months postoperatively
Time frame: Up to 24 months
PainDETECT
PainDETECT questionnaire for identifying neuropathic pain component and patient satisfaction on a two-level scale at 6, 12, 24 months
Time frame: Up to 24 months
Nausea
Post-operative nausea documented during the 3 first post-operative days (both incidence and intensity on a 0-10 NRS)
Time frame: 3 days after surgery
Opioids and analgesic
Post-operative opioids and analgesic drugs consumption documented with Medication Quantification Scale score (MQS) daily during the first 6 weeks and then at 3, 6, 12, 24 months postoperatively
Time frame: Up to 24 months
PCR & ESR
Post-operative inflammatory response in terms of hematic C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) documented every day in the first 3 post-operative days
Time frame: 3 days after surgery
Mobilization
Time from surgery to first mobilization
Time frame: Up to week 2
Length of hospital stay
The length of hospital stay
Time frame: Up to week 2
Patient Satisfaction
the satisfaction of the patient with the surgical procedure
Time frame: reported on a 0-10 NRS at 2 and 6 weeks, 3, 6, 12, 24 months
Hip ROM
range of movement of the operated hip
Time frame: evaluation of range of motion preoperatively, at discharge and at 2 and 6 weeks, and at 3, 6, 12, 24 months postoperatively.
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Dec 2021 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Nov 2027, 70 months after the start.
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Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Bellinzona