Treatment of Calcific Tendinitis of the Rotator Cuff
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02419040 |
Recruitment Status :
Completed
First Posted : April 17, 2015
Last Update Posted : March 14, 2023
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Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
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Shoulder Pain Tendonitis Calcinosis Shoulder Impingement Syndrome | Procedure: Barbotage Procedure: Corticosteroid injection Procedure: Lidocain injection (sham) | Not Applicable |
Barbotage is a sonographically guided percutaneous needle aspiration and lavage of the calcium deposit in calcific tendinitis of the shoulder. Persisting pain in cacific tendinitis is considered to be a consequence of increased tendon volume or changed tendon texture in the area of the calcification which leads to secondary impingement and inflammation. Consequently, removal of the deposit should be a causal treatment measure.
Scientific evidence for the efficacy of the barbotage procedure in patients with persistent symptoms from calcific tendinitis is still limited. The cyclic often self-limiting course of the disease, and an anticipated placebo effect, questions about the method's efficacy can only be answered by high-quality randomized studies. In this trial the investigators want to randomize a cohort of patients to (1) Ultrasound guided needling, lavage and subacromial steroid injection, (2) Ultrasound guided subacromial steroid injection or (3) Ultrasound guided lidocain injection (sham). The investigators want to follow the patients over two years with repeated testing with a set of validated outcome measures together with radiologic re-examinations. The investigators want to find out whether the active treatments (1, 2) are more effective than the sham treatment and whether there are differences in outcome between the two active treatments. To increase the generalizability of the investigators' results, the investigators want to perform the study as a multi-centre study.
Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Actual Enrollment : | 216 participants |
Allocation: | Randomized |
Intervention Model: | Parallel Assignment |
Masking: | Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor) |
Primary Purpose: | Treatment |
Official Title: | Treatment of Calcific Tendinitis of the Rotator Cuff - a Multi-centre, Randomized and Sham Controlled Trial (KALK Study) |
Actual Study Start Date : | April 2015 |
Actual Primary Completion Date : | April 2022 |
Actual Study Completion Date : | April 2022 |

Arm | Intervention/treatment |
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Experimental: Barbotage
Ultrasound guided needling, lavage and steroid/lidocain injection (20 mg Triamcinolon/9 ml Lidocain 1%) Ultrasound guided lidocain injection (10 ml Lidocain 1%, sham group) and home exercises
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Procedure: Barbotage
A 18-gauge needle connected to a 5 ml syringe with 4 ml of saline solution will be used to puncture the calcification with freehand technique and under constant sonographic monitoring. With the tip of the needle placed in the center of the deposit, the calcification will be flushed. Finally, a new 21-gauge needle will be introduced into the subacromial-subdeltoid bursa and 9 ml of 1% Lidocain hydrochlorid and 1 ml (20 mg) of Triamcinolon will be injected into the subacromial-subdeltoid bursa. All patients will be instructed by a physioteherapist in home exercises.
Other Names:
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Active Comparator: Corticosteroid injection
Ultrasound guided steroid/lidocain injection (20 mg Triamcinolon/9 ml Lidocain 1%) and home exercises
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Procedure: Corticosteroid injection
The tip of the 18-gauge needle will be placed in the soft parts outside of the rotator cuff and movements mimicking the lavage procedure will be performed. A lavage procedure usually takes 5 minutes and the same period of time will have to be used for the mimicking maneuver. Finally, a new 21-gauge needle will be introduced into the subacromial-subdeltoid bursa and 9 ml of 1% Lidocain hydrochlorid and 1 ml (20 mg) of Triamcinolon will be injected into the subacromial-subdeltoid bursa. All patients will be instructed by a physioteherapist in home exercises.
Other Names:
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Sham Comparator: Lidocain injection (sham)
Ultrasound guided lidocain injection (10 ml Lidocain 1%, sham group) and home exercises
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Procedure: Lidocain injection (sham)
The tip of the 18-gauge needle will be placed in the soft parts outside of the rotator cuff and movements mimicking the lavage procedure will be performed. A lavage procedure usually takes 5 minutes and the same period of time will have to be used for the mimicking maneuver. Finally, a new 21-gauge needle will be introduced into the subacromial-subdeltoid bursa and 10 ml of 1% Lidocain hydrochlorid will be injected into the subacromial-subdeltoid bursa. All patients will be instructed by a physioteherapist in home exercises.
Other Name: 9 ml Lidocain 1% |
- Oxford Shoulder Score [ Time Frame: 4 months ]Shoulder pain and disability
- Oxford Shoulder Score [ Time Frame: after 2 and 6 weeks, and 8, 12 and 24 months ]Shoulder pain and disability
- QuickDASH Disability of shoulder, arm and hand [ Time Frame: after 2 and 6 weeks, and 4, 8, 12 and 24 months ]Shoulder pain and disability
- EQ 5D-5L [ Time Frame: 4, 8, 12 and 24 months ]Health related quality of life
- Cross-over of patients [ Time Frame: 4, 8, 12 and 24 months ]number of patients crossing over to other group or other treatment
- Adverse-events [ Time Frame: 2 and 6 weeks, and 4 months ]Patient reported adverse events
- Size of calcific deposits [ Time Frame: 4 and 24 months ]Measured in millimeter AP radiographs
- Volume of removed calcific deposit [ Time Frame: Baseline ]Volume of removed calcific deposit in milliliter

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 30 Years to 100 Years (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria:
- 30 years or older
- 3 months or more of shoulder pain
- Moderate to strong pain localized on the top and/or lateral side of the shoulder, exaggerated by activities above shoulder level
- Painful arc
- Positive Hawkin's test and/or Neer's sign for impingement
- Finding of one or more calcifications ≥5 mm in size on a standard anteriorposterior radiograph, localized proximally to the greater tubercle, together with a sonographic finding of one or more calcifications ≥5 mm in size on the short or long axis view, localized in the supraspinatus or infraspinatus tendon
- Morphological radiographic appearance of Molé type A, B or C12 (appendix 2) A: Dense, homogeneous with well-defined limits B: Dense, fragmented with well-defined limits C: Heterogeneous with poorly defined limits and sometimes with a punctuate appearance
- Ability to understand written and spoken Norwegian (Swedish/English)
- Existing signed informed consent and expected cooperation of the patients for the treatment and the follow-up
Exclusion criteria:
- Clinical and radiological signs of a recent spontaneous release of the deposit such as a sudden change in size or density of the deposit on ultrasound together with an acute onset of extreme shoulder pain
- Clinical signs of shoulder instability, glenohumeral arthritis, AC pathology, inflammatory arthropathy, fibromyalgia, frozen shoulder or cervical radiculopathy
- Sonographic signs for a rotator cuff tear (full thickness or partial thickness) and of a tear or a dislocation of the long head of the biceps tendon
- A history of surgical treatment of the relevant shoulder
- A subacromial injection with a corticosteroid during the last 3 months before inclusion
- Medical contraindications for any of the invasive procedures
- One of the following contraindications for the use of Lidocaine 10 mg/ml: Patients with serious hypovolaemia, known cardiac conduction disturbances, epilepsy or porphyrias, patients with known serious dysfunction of the liver or the kidneys.
- One of the following contraindications for the use of Triamcinolone 20 mg/ml: Patients with systemic infections unless specific anti-infective therapy is employed, patients with a local infection in the area of application, patients recently vaccinated with live vaccines, patients with known diabetes mellitus, renal or cardiac insufficiency, ulcerating colitis, gastric ulcer, psychosis, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, or ocular herpes simplex.
- Concomitant medication with one of the following medicinal products: Anti-arrythmics such as mexiletine or class III antiarrythmics (e.g. amiodarone), muscle relaxants (e.g. suxamethonium) or antipsychotics (e.g. pimozide, sertindole, olanzapine, quetiapine, zotepine, tropisetrone, dolasetron), antibiotics such as quinopristin/dalfopristin.
- Any history of prior allergic/hypersensitivity reactions related to the study medication
- Knowledge of an ongoing pregnancy (Fertile women not using contraception and who are uncertain whether they are pregnant or not will have to perform a pregnancy test)
- Nursing women

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT02419040
Norway | |
Martina Hansen's Hospital | |
Sandvika, Norway, 1306 |
Principal Investigator: | Stefan Moosmayer, MD, PhD | MHH Martine Hansens Hospital |
Responsible Party: | Stefan Moosmayer, MD, PhD, Martina Hansen's Hospital |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT02419040 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
KALK-001 |
First Posted: | April 17, 2015 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | March 14, 2023 |
Last Verified: | March 2023 |
shoulder pain rotator cuff calcific tendonitis barbotage |
Shoulder Pain Tendinopathy Shoulder Impingement Syndrome Calcinosis Arthralgia Joint Diseases Musculoskeletal Diseases Pain Neurologic Manifestations Muscular Diseases Tendon Injuries Wounds and Injuries Shoulder Injuries Calcium Metabolism Disorders |
Metabolic Diseases Lidocaine Anesthetics, Local Anesthetics Central Nervous System Depressants Physiological Effects of Drugs Sensory System Agents Peripheral Nervous System Agents Anti-Arrhythmia Agents Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blockers Sodium Channel Blockers Membrane Transport Modulators Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action |