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RSA vs. Nonop for 3 & 4-Part Proximal Humerus Fractures

Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty Versus Nonoperative Treatment of 3 & 4-Part Proximal Humerus Fractures

Status
Terminated
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03599336
Enrollment
4
Registered
2018-07-26
Start date
2018-08-01
Completion date
2020-10-29
Last updated
2021-10-11

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Humerus Fracture, Humerus, Shoulder Fractures, Shoulder Arthropathy Associated With Other Conditions, Arthropathy Shoulder, Shoulder Injury, Arthropathy

Brief summary

There is currently no consensus amongst orthopedic specialists on the best way to treat 3- and 4-part proximal humerus fractures. No surgery and surgery with a type of shoulder replacement called a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty are two options that many orthopedists use. This study is being performed to evaluate the differences in short- and long-term pain and functional outcomes between patients who are treated with these two different options.

Interventions

Surgical management will include placement of fracture specific, cemented reverse total shoulder arthroplasty components as per standard surgical care and routine postoperative rehabilitation.

Subjects allocated to the nonoperative treatment arm will maintain sling immobilization for 3 weeks. The sling will be removed for elbow, wrist and hand range of motion (ROM), hygiene, and dressing only. At 3 weeks passive ROM in external rotation (ER) and forward elevation (FE) will be added. At 6 weeks from injury, the sling will be removed and stretching in all planes will be allowed. Use of the arm will be up to a fork/knife/toothbrush only. At 3 months from injury, strengthening will be added. Supervised physical therapy will be offered to patients for use at their discretion, as is current practice.

Sponsors

Mayo Clinic
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
65 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Displaced 3- and 4-part proximal humerus fractures. * Age greater than or equal to 65 years old.

Exclusion criteria

* Less than 65 years old. * Medical comorbidities precluding surgical treatment or anesthesia * Dementia or inability to provide adequate follow up. * Pathologic fractures * Open fractures * Associated injuries: fracture dislocations, multiple or complex injuries of the ipsilateral limb, complete brachial plexopathy, vascular injury and polytrauma.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Function as described by ASES score at 1 year follow-up.2 year follow-upThe American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score is a well-validated, patient-reported outcome measure used by shoulder and elbow surgeons. The score ranges from 0-100 with 100 signifying the best outcome. Half of the score correlates to pain and half to function, both on a 0-50 scale where higher is again considered a better outcome. The pain portion is tabulated by taking the patient's response on a visual analogue scale (0 to 10 scale where 0 represent no pain and 10 represents worst pain imaginable), subtracting it from 10, and then multiplying by 5. The function score is tabulated by taking the patient's response on 10 questions rated on an ordinal scale from 0-3 and then multiplying the cumulative score by 5/3.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026