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Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) TearBTB vs QTNCT07846709

Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Versus Quadriceps Tendon Autograft for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Non-Inferiority Trial Regarding Anterior Knee Pain

A study testing Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Autograft ACL Reconstruction and Quadriceps Tendon Autograft ACL Reconstruction in people with Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tear, run by Hospital del Mar.

Not yet recruiting

Opening soon. The study is approved but enrolment has not started yet. Sites may already take enquiries.

Official record
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Trial summary

This prospective, randomized, single-center, non-inferiority clinical trial will compare anterior knee pain (AKP) after primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using either a bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft (BPTB) or a quadriceps tendon autograft with a bone block (BQT). Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 55 years
Conditions the study is for
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tear
What is being tested?
Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Autograft ACL Reconstruction and Quadriceps Tendon Autograft ACL Reconstruction
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
150 participants
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
5 Oct 2026to Oct 2029
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 55 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Clinical and/or radiological diagnosis of an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury with an indication for primary surgical reconstruction.
  • Ability to understand the study information and provide written informed consent.
  • Willingness to participate in the study and complete the planned clinical and radiological follow-up.
  • Technical feasibility of performing either a bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) autograft or a quadriceps tendon autograft, as determined by the treating surgeon.
  • Exclusion Criteria Previous surgery on the affected knee. Previous fracture of the proximal tibia, distal femur, or patella of the affected knee.
  • History of patellofemoral pain syndrome, symptomatic insertional patellar tendinopathy, or symptomatic insertional quadriceps tendinopathy.
Show all 9Show fewer
  • Need to harvest a graft that does not meet the predefined study specifications. Presence of a pain-amplifying condition or generalized chronic pain that could interfere with the assessment of anterior knee pain.
  • Psychiatric, cognitive, or mental health disorders that may impair follow-up, understanding of the study, or valid completion of questionnaires.
  • Medical contraindication to surgery or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Refusal to participate or withdrawal of informed consent.

Who cannot join

None listed.

About this study

Official title: Randomized Non-inferiority Clinical Trial Comparing Anterior Knee Pain After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction With Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Autograft Versus Quadriceps Tendon Autograft

This prospective, randomized, single-center, non-inferiority clinical trial will compare anterior knee pain (AKP) after primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using either a bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft (BPTB) or a quadriceps tendon autograft with a bone block (BQT).

Participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to one of the two graft groups. The primary objective is to determine whether BPTB is non-inferior to BQT with respect to AKP, as assessed by the change in pressure pain threshold from the preoperative measurement to 12 months after surgery.

Secondary outcomes will include kneeling pain, the Kujala Anterior Knee Pain Scale, the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, quadriceps muscle circumference, the subjective International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, clinical stability, complications, associated surgical procedures, and graft failure.

Being tested
Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Autograft ACL Reconstruction, Quadriceps Tendon Autograft ACL Reconstruction
Keywords
Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, Bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft, Quadriceps tendon autograft, Anterior knee pain, Pressure algometry, Randomized clinical trial
Medical subject headings
Lacerations

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Autograft ACL ReconstructionProcedure or surgery

    BPTB Autograft ACL Reconstruction Primary ACL reconstruction using an autologous bone-patellar tendon-bone graft harvested from the central patellar tendon, with bone blocks approximately 9-10 mm in diameter and 10-20 mm in length. Graft harvest and reconstruction will be performed using a standardized arthroscopic technique

  • Quadriceps Tendon Autograft ACL ReconstructionProcedure or surgery

    Quadriceps Tendon Autograft ACL Reconstruction Primary ACL reconstruction using an autologous quadriceps tendon graft with a bone block approximately 9-10 mm in diameter and 10-20 mm in length. The graft will be harvested as a partial-thickness quadriceps tendon graft using a standardized technique and implanted arthroscopically.

Study groups in NCT07846709
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone AutograftExperimentalBone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Autograft Arm Participants will undergo primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using a bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) autograft harvested from the central portion of the patellar tendon, with bone blocks approximately 9-10 mm in diameter and 10-20 mm in length. The graft will be implanted using the standardized arthroscopic ACL reconstruction technique routinely performed at the study center.
Receives: Procedure: Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Autograft ACL Reconstruction
Quadriceps Tendon AutograftExperimentalQuadriceps Tendon Autograft arm Participants will undergo primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using a quadriceps tendon autograft with a bone block approximately 9-10 mm in diameter and 10-20 mm in length. The graft will be harvested as a partial-thickness graft using a standardized technique and implanted using the same standardized arthroscopic ACL reconstruction principles.
Receives: Procedure: Quadriceps Tendon Autograft ACL Reconstruction

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change in Pressure Pain Threshold mesured with presure algometry at the center of the Patella

    Measured: Baseline to 12 months after surgery

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted29 Sep 2026
  2. Study start5 Oct 2026 (estimated)
  3. Primary completionOct 2028 (estimated)
  4. Study completionOct 2029 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
150 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07846709
Sponsor's protocol ID
2026/12770/I
Acronym
BTB vs QT
Status last verified
Oct 2026
First submitted
22 Sep 2026
Last updated
7 Oct 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Autograft ACL Reconstruction and Quadriceps Tendon Autograft ACL Reconstruction in people with Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tear, run by Hospital del Mar.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 9 inclusion and 0 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 7 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change in Pressure Pain Threshold mesured with presure algometry at the center of the Patella (time frame: Baseline to 12 months after surgery). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 7 Oct 2026.

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