Validation of the Ottawa Knee Rules in adults: a single centre study

Jordan I Sims, Josephine R Davies, Minh Chau

Research output: Contribution to journalMeeting Abstractpeer-review

Abstract

Acute knee pain is a common complaint in emergency departments, for which plain radiography has long been implemented to diagnose.1 However, despite the popularity of radiographs, studies show knee fractures occur in only 5.2% and 6% of patients.2,3 To combat this overuse, Stiell and colleagues in Ottawa, Canada, derived specific decision rules to justify knee radiography, later entitled the ‘Ottawa Knee Rules’ (OKR).2 The rules state that knee radiographs are indicated if at least one of five criteria is met, including age 55 years or more, isolated patella tenderness, tenderness at head of fibula, inability to flex knee to 90 degrees and inability to weight-bear more than four steps.2 Patients meeting at least one of the criteria are highly suspected of having clinically significant knee fracture, and the rules themselves have established over 99% sensitivity across various studies.1

This presentation will reflect a clinical audit performed in December 2019. The audit will evaluate the appropriateness of referrals for knee radiography in acute knee injury with reference to the OKR. This retrospective audit aims to analyse 300 knee X-ray referrals that presented to the medical imaging department at a major public hospital in South Australia. The authors anticipate an accuracy of up to 100% for OKR in detecting knee fractures. The overall prevalence of knee injuries, including sensitivity and specificity, and referring trends between professions will also be evaluated in this study. Results of the final analysis will be reported in the presentation.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3-79
JournalJournal of Medical Radiation Sciences
Volume68
Issue numberS1
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2021
Externally publishedYes

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