Arthrocentesis vs Observation Study for Acute ACL Tears (ASPIRATE)

November 4, 2026 updated by: Jelle van der List, MD PhD MBA, Ohio State University

Arthrocentesis Study for Perioperative Intervention on Reducing Arthritis and Trauma-related Effects

The ASPIRATE trial is a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effects of pre- and post-operative knee joint aspiration in patients with an ACL injury. The study aims to determine if removing knee joint fluid can mitigate the increasing inflammation after surgery, reduce quadriceps atrophy, improve short-term pain, enhance functional recovery, and lower long-term rates of post-traumatic knee osteoarthritis.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

While Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction (ACLR) successfully restores joint stability, patients still face challenges regarding long-term osteoarthritis and lower rates of returning to sports. Traumatic hemarthrosis-the buildup of blood in the joint following an injury and surgery-acts as a toxic agent that triggers cartilage degeneration. Furthermore, it causes arthrogenic muscle inhibition (AMI), which leads to quadriceps muscle shrinkage and abnormal walking patterns. This cycle is often referred to as the "second-hit phenomenon". While draining fluid from the knee (arthrocentesis) before surgery is common, performing repeat drainages after surgery to remove built-up blood is experimental. This study evaluates whether this low-cost, widely available procedure can safely interrupt that destructive cycle.

The main objective of this trial is to intervene in the hemarthrosis process to prevent or reduce the incidence of AMI and cartilage breakdown through pre- and post-operative joint drainage. Secondary objectives include assessing whether the procedure leads to less quadriceps muscle shrinkage, improves short-term pain, enhances leg strength at 3 and 6 months, accelerates return-to-sport rates, and reduces joint wear at a 1-year follow-up.

Eligible participants include individuals aged 15 to 40 years who experienced their injury 30 days or less prior, have a confirmed ACL tear, and have chosen to undergo ACLR using either a quadriceps tendon or bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft. Key exclusion criteria include previous knee or ACL surgery on the same leg, a cortisone injection within the previous 3 months, major multi-ligament repairs done at the same time (such as the MCL, PCL, or PLC), advanced osteoarthritis, pregnancy, or an inability to speak English fluently.

All participants will undergo standard ACLR surgery using their own tissue graft. Clinical assessments are conducted from baseline through 1 year, tracking patient surveys on knee pain, activity levels, and psychological readiness at baseline, 1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. Physical and imaging steps include measuring thigh circumference with a tape measure at every visit, performing leg strength tests on a special machine at 3 and 6 months, and taking standing knee X-rays with a specialized framing device at the 1-year mark to evaluate joint health.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

54

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Ohio
      • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43230
        • Recruiting
        • Jameson Crane Sports Medicine Institute
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Jelle van der List, MD, PhD
      • Dublin, Ohio, United States, 43016
        • Recruiting
        • Ohio State Outpatient Care Dublin
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Jelle van der List, MD, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

15 years to 40 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age 15 -40
  2. Time from injury to aspiration ≤30 days
  3. Patient with a confirmed ACL tear and have elected to have an ACL reconstruction using a quadriceps tendon (QT) or bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) autograft tendon

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Fear of needles or rejection of arthrocentesis
  2. Previous knee or ACL surgery on the affected knee
  3. Previous cortisone injection in the affected knee within the previous 3 months
  4. Concomitant procedures that involve repair or reconstruction of the medial collateral ligament (MCL), posterolateral corner (PLC) or posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (PCL)
  5. Osteoarthritis Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥3.
  6. Cartilage procedures beyond microfracture or chondroplasty
  7. Planned osteotomies or meniscus allograft transplantation (MAT)
  8. Muscular, vascular or neurological diseases that influence rehabilitation or surgery
  9. Current use of prednisone or cytostatic medication
  10. Obesity with a BMI ≥45
  11. Daily smoking
  12. History of illicit drug or alcohol abuse
  13. History of prior infection in knee
  14. History of chemotherapy treatment
  15. History of sickle cell disease
  16. Pregnancy during injury or surgery
  17. No mastery of the English language

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Aspiration

Each subject that is randomized to this arm will receive a knee aspiration both before and after ACL surgery.
Procedure: Knee Aspiration

Aspiration is a minimally invasive medical procedure in which a sterile needle and syringe are inserted into the intra-articular space of the knee joint to extract excess synovial fluid that is built up around the knee space.
No Intervention: No Aspiration

Each subject that is randomized to this arm will not receive an intervention and will only complete questionnaires.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quadriceps peak strength
Time Frame: 3 months and 6 months

The Biodex measurement physical device will be used to measure the isokinetic strength of the quadriceps muscle. The leg is brought from flexion to extension at 60 degrees per second and 300 degrees per second and the maximum force is measured for the quadriceps. This is compared to the contralateral side and expressed in the limb symmetry index (LSI) as the percentage of strength compared to the contralateral side. This is expressed N/m
3 months and 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quadriceps atrophy
Time Frame: 3 and 6 Months

The quadriceps circumference of the affected leg is measured in centimeters at 6 and 16 centimeters above the superior pole of the patella and compared to the contralateral side.
3 and 6 Months
Short-term Pain
Time Frame: 1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year

The overall pain in the knee is assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) questionnaire that is standardized, and this is compared to the preoperative baseline score. The score ranges from 0 to 10 with 0 indicating no pain and 10 indicating worst pain imaginable
1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year
Patient-reported outcome measures
Time Frame: 1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year

The questionnaire subjective International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) will be obtained. The score ranges from 0 to 100 with 100 having a normal score and 0 an abnormal score.
1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year
Lysholm Score
Time Frame: 1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year

The questionnaire Lysholm Score will be obtained. The score ranges from 0 to 100 with 100 having a normal score and 0 an abnormal score.
1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year
Forgotten Joint Score
Time Frame: 1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year

The questionnaire Forgotten Joint Score will be obtained. The score ranges from 0 to 100 with 100 having a normal score and 0 an abnormal score.
1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year
Tegner activity score
Time Frame: 1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year

The questionnaire Tegner activity score will be obtained. The score ranges from 0 to 100 with 100 having a normal score and 0 an abnormal score.
1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year
Anterior Cruciate Ligament-Return to Sport after Injury (ACL-RSI)
Time Frame: 1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year

The questionnaire Anterior Cruciate Ligament-Return to Sport after Injury (ACL-RSI) will be obtained. The score ranges from 0 to 100 with 100 having a normal score and 0 an abnormal score.
1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year
Return to Sports
Time Frame: 3 months, 6 months and 1 year.

Return to sports will be assessed using questionnaires: when they return to sports (months after surgery), if they have reached preinjury level of performance (yes/no) and whether they are fully return to previous level (yes/no).
3 months, 6 months and 1 year.
Joint space narrowing on radiographs
Time Frame: 1 year

Osteoarthritic changes at AP and Rosenberg views at 1 year of the medial and lateral compartment compared to preoperative radiographs measured in absolute millimeters at the narrowest area of the respective compartments
1 year
Osteoarthritis grade on radiographs
Time Frame: 1 year

Osteoarthritic changes at AP and Rosenberg views at 1 year of the medial and lateral compartment compared to preoperative radiographs measured as Kellgren-Lawrence scale (scale from 0 to 4 with 0 indicating no signs of osteoarthritis and 4 indicating end-stage bone-on-bone osteoarthritis)
1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Ohio State University

Investigators

  • Study Director: Jelle van der List, MD, PhD, Ohio State University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 3, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 4, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

November 10, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 4, 2026

Last Verified

November 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY20252711

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

IPD will not be shared.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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