Acute Ankle Injuries Research Articles

Does the normal four steps weight-bearing rule predict the need for radiography in cases of blunt ankle trauma?

Background: Ankle injuries are one of the most common complaints of patients presenting to emergency departments (ED). The Ottawa ankle rules (OAR) was introduced to help physicians to decide who may require x-ray for blunt injuries. The present study aimed at validating the four steps weight-bearing rule of OAR as a sole criterion. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted on 214 patients with acute ankle injury who referred to 3 emergency departments over a 7-months period in 2008. Main outcome measures of this survey included the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and the likelihood ratios (positive and negative) of the four steps weight-bearing rule. Results: In this study, 34 fractures were found among the patients. The decision rule had a sensitivity of 0.88 and specificity of 0.61 in detecting all midfoot and ankle fractures. Application of this rule by emergency medicine residents resulted in a 47% reduction in the use of midfoot and ankle radiography. Conclusion: Applying a four steps weight-bearing rule as a sole criterion to detect ankle fractures is not as accurate and sensitive as OAR. Solitary application of this rule may lead to an increasing number of missed fractures compared with OAR.

Predicting poor outcome from simple ankle injuries: a prospective cohort study.

Sprained ankles are common and when there are no signs or evidence of a fracture, conventional management is conservative. At present, there are no clinical markers to identify those that may develop persisting instability and disability that would require rehabilitation or surgery. To investigate the nature and extent of soft tissue ankle injuries, and to consider whether the anatomical severity of injury can predict functional outcome. Patients attending a local Accident and Emergency Department in Oxford with an acute ankle injury with no clinical requirement for radiographs, or where radiographs were normal, were invited into the study. Within 5 days, patients underwent a diagnostic ultrasound examination, a cone beam CT study and a disability assessment. Ultrasound and physiotherapy assessments were repeated at 3 and 6 months. 100 patients were recruited and grouped based upon injuries. 58 had simple ankle injuries, 21 complex, 19 had significant fractures and 2 were excluded from further follow up analysis. There were no clinically significant differences in pain, disability or functional outcomes between the groups at all points of the study. Medium to long term clinical outcomes were not solely determined by the severity of injury. Some patients with simple injuries were seen to have ongoing problems, whereas some with complex injuries recovered completely in a shorter period. Advances in knowledge: The severity of an ankle injury determined by radiological imaging does not necessarily dictate the severity of a patient's symptoms and the trajectory of their recovery.

JOURNAL CLUB: MRI Evaluation of Midtarsal (Chopart) Sprain in the Setting of Acute Ankle Injury.

This study determined the frequency and MRI appearance of osseous and ligamentous injuries in midtarsal (Chopart) sprains and their association with ankle sprains after acute ankle injuries. Prospective diagnosis of and interobserver agreement regarding midtarsal injury among musculoskeletal radiologists were also assessed. Two cohorts with ankle MRI were identified via a digital PACS search: patients who had undergone MRI within 8 weeks after ankle injury and control subjects who had not sustained ankle trauma. Studies were retrospectively reviewed in consensus as well as independently, assessing ligamentous and osseous injury to the Chopart joint (calcaneocuboid and talonavicular joints) and associated lateral collateral and deltoid ligamentous injury. Interobserver agreement was calculated, and prospective radiology reports were reviewed to determine the musculoskeletal radiologist's familiarity with Chopart joint injury. MR images of control subjects (n = 16) and patients with ankle injury (n = 47) were reviewed. The normal dorsal calcaneocuboid and calcaneocuboid component of bifurcate ligaments were variably visualized; the remaining normal ligaments were always seen. Eleven patients (23%) had midtarsal ligamentous and osseous injury consistent with midtarsal sprain (eight acute or subacute, one probable, and two old). Six (75%) of eight acute or subacute cases had coexisting lateral collateral ligament injury. Eighty-nine percent of osseous injuries were reported prospectively, but 83% of ligamentous injuries were missed. Substantial interobserver agreement was achieved regarding diagnosis of midtarsal sprain. Midtarsal sprains are commonly associated with acute ankle injury and with ankle sprains. Presently, midtarsal sprains may be underrecognized by radiologists; thus, greater familiarity with the MRI spectrum of ligamentous and osseous injuries at the Chopart joint is important for accurate diagnosis and clinical management.

Diagnostic Value of Early Magnetic Resonance Imaging After Acute Lateral Ankle Injury

We report a retrospective study of 171 consecutive patients with a lateral ankle sprain. All the patients with direct or blunt force trauma were excluded. Within 21 days of injury, 115 (67.25%) patients had undergone magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate for more serious or significant injuries. The average patient age was 44.09 years. Of the 115 patients, 75 (65.23%) had findings noted to be “significant.” MRI can serve as a valuable and underused tool in the evaluation of acute lateral ankle injuries. The underuse of MRI might explain the high degree of variability in patients recovering from a lateral ankle sprain.

Accuracy of the Ottawa Ankle Rules applied by non-physician providers in a pediatric emergency department.

The Ottawa Ankle Rules (OAR) are a clinical decision tool used to minimize unnecessary radiographs in ankle and foot injuries. The OAR are a reliable tool to exclude fractures in children over 5 years of age when applied by physicians. Limited data support its use by other health care workers in children. Our objective was to determine the accuracy of the OAR when applied by non-physician providers (NPP). Children aged 5 to 17 years presenting with an acute ankle or foot injury were enrolled. Phase 1 captured baseline data on x-ray use in 106 patients. NPPs were then educated on the usage of the OAR and completed an OAR learning module. In phase 2, NPPs applied the OAR to 184 included patients. The sensitivity of the foot rule, as applied by NPP's, was 100% (56-100% CI) and the specificity was 17% (9-29% CI) for clinically significant fractures. The sensitivity of the ankle portion of the rule, as applied by NPP's, was 88% (47-99 CI) and the specificity was 31% (23-40% CI) for clinically significant fractures. The only clinically significant fracture missed by NPP's was detected on physician assessment. Inter-observer agreement was κ=0.24 for the ankle rule and κ=0.49 for the foot rule. The sensitivity of the OAR when applied by NPP's was very good. More training and practice using the OAR would likely improve NPP's inter-observer reliability. Our data suggest the OAR may be a useful tool for NPP's to apply prior to physician assessment.

Increased cytokine levels and histological changes in cartilage, synovial cells and synovial fluid after malleolar fractures

BackgroundMalleolar fractures are among the most common fractures in the human skeleton with a high risk of later development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (OA). The acute ankle injury initiates a sequence of events potentially leading to progressive articular surface damage resulting from inflammatory changes in cartilage, synovial tissue and synovial fluid. We hypothesised that in the acute phase of ankle fracture, these changes occur at the same time in the different tissues. MethodsSpecimens of chondral tissue, synovial tissue and synovial fluid were collected from 16 patients with acute articular ankle fracture (study group). Additional samples were obtained from five male fresh cadavers within 12 hours of death (control group). Chondral tissue was assessed for cellularity, irregularities and chondrocyte disarray. Synovial tissue was assessed for synovitis, proteoglycans and collagen deposition. Synovial fluid was assessed for cytokines IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IFN-γ and TGF-β1. ResultsChondral tissue showed discontinuity in the tidemark between cartilage and subchondral bone, chondrocyte disarray, increased cellularity (both at the cartilage surface and subchondral bone), articular surface irregularities and increased deposition of proteoglycans and collagen fibres. Synovial tissue showed a statistically significant difference between the study and control groups in the concentration per tissue area of both thin collagen fibres (p=0.0274) and thick collagen fibres (p<0.0001). Cytokine concentrations in synovial fluid samples were significantly higher in ankle fracture tissue compared with controls for IL-2 (p=0.0002), IL-6 (p<0.0001), IL-10 (p=0.002) and IL-17 (p<0.0001). No statistically significant differences were observed for IFN-γ (p=0.06303) and TGF-β1 (p=0.8832). ConclusionWe observed a pattern of simultaneous and interrelated pathological changes in cartilage, subchondral bone, synovial tissue and synovial fluid after acute malleolar fracture. As the observed inflammatory changes could lead to the development of OA, a more thorough knowledge of these early processes could be helpful to find strategies for prevention or delay of this common complication.

Dynamic ultrasound evaluation of the syndesmosis ligamentous complex and clear space in acute ankle injury, compared to magnetic resonance imaging and surgical findings

Background: Syndesmosis injuries are often more serious than an injury to the lateral ligament complex of the ankle, with double the recovery time, chronic discomfort and joint instability. Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is considered as the best imaging modality to assess the integrity of the syndesmotic ligamentous complex and clear space, a dynamic ultrasound evaluation may provide an alternative imaging option worthy of exploring.Aim: The aim of this article is to compare the sensitivity and specificity of musculoskeletal ultrasound and MRI, in the diagnosis of syndesmosis pathology, with surgical findings as the reference point.Method: MRI was performed on 114 participants presenting with pain over the lateral aspect of the ankle after injury. This was followed by a dynamic ultrasound examination during which the anterior tibiofibular ligament (ATiFL) was assessed for continuity, contour and haematoma. The tibiofibular clear space was measured with the ankle in a neutral position, followed by internal and external rotation.Results: The Fisher’s exact test was used to determine non-random associations between variables and compute statistical significance (p &lt; 0.05). Ultrasound achieved a sensitivity of 86.3%, specificity of 97% with a false-positive rate of 3%. The sensitivity of MRI is similar to that of ultrasound (86%) with a specificity of 100%.Conclusion: Although both imaging tests performed very well, MRI was slightly better at excluding pathology while both tests performed equally in demonstrating pathology. As a simple, inexpensive and reproducible test, dynamic ultrasound can thus be considered as an alternative to MRI in acute ankle pathology.

Efficiency of the Modified Ottawa ankle rules for the differential diagnosis of fracture in acute foot and ankle injury

Objective: To evaluate the efficiency of modified Ottawa Ankle Rules (OAR) for the differential diagnosis of fractures in acute foot and ankle injuries. Methods: From October 2016 to December 2016, 272cases (135 males and 137 females) of foot and ankle injury in emergency department of Tianjin Hospital were prospective enrolled in the study.The median age was 27.5 years (7-87); left limb 155, right 117 cases; injury time ranged from 0.3 to 24 h (median 4 h). Conventional and modified OAR was applied on physical examination, subsequently radiography performed to determine the occurrence of fractures.The efficiency of the two methods were compared and analyzed. Results: Fractures were found in 100 cases (36.8%), 49 cases of ankle and 51 cases of foot fractures.With the imaging results as the standard, the sensitivity for conventional and modified OAR were 93.0% and 100%, specificity were 9.9% and 8.7%, the positive predictive value were 37.5% and 38.9%, the negative predictive value were 70.8% and 100%, the accuracy were 40.4% and 42.3%, missed diagnosis rate were 7% and 0% respectively.The sensitivity, positive likelihood ratio, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, accuracy, negative likelihood ratio and missed diagnosis ratio were better than in modified OAR compared with Conventional OAR, while the specificity was slightly lower compared to Conventional OAR.The Kappa value of modified OAR was 0.065 (P>0.05), which is better than conventional OAR.Conventional OAR can reduce 6.3% (17/272) X-ray and modified OAR decline 5.5% (15/272). Conclusion: Modified OAR significantly reduces the rate of missed diagnosis of foot fractures, but its specificity is poor. Ultrasound can be assisted to improve the specificity and reduce the number of unnecessary X-rays.

Can we use biomarkers of coagulation to predict which patients with foot and ankle injury will develop deep vein thrombosis?

BackgroundOur aim was to determine whether plasma levels of Tissue Factor (TF), Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 (VCAM-1), Interleukin 6 (IL-6) or D-dimer after foot and ankle injury could predict which patients would develop deep vein thrombosis (DVT). MethodsPatients aged 18–60 years with acute foot and ankle injury had venous blood sample to measure TF, VCAM-1, IL-6 and D-dimer within 3 days of injury. Patients had bilateral lower limb venous ultrasound to assess for DVT on discharge from clinic. Results21 of 77 patients were found to have DVT (27%). There was no statistically significant association between levels of TF, VCAM-1, IL-6 or D-dimer and subsequent development of DVT. ConclusionTissue Factor (TF), Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 (VCAM-1), Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and D-dimer levels were not associated with development deep vein thrombosis in patients with acute foot and ankle injury.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Clinical Decision Rules to Exclude Fractures in Acute Ankle Injuries: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BackgroundAnkle decision rules are developed to expedite patient care and reduce the number of radiographs of the ankle and foot. Currently, only three systematic reviews have been conducted on the accuracy of the Ottawa Ankle and Foot Rules (OAFR) in adults and children. However, no systematic review has been performed to determine the most accurate ankle decision rule. ObjectivesThe purpose of this study is to examine which clinical decision rules are the most accurate for excluding ankle fracture after acute ankle trauma. MethodsA systematic search was conducted in the databases PubMed, CINAHL, PEDro, ScienceDirect, and EMBASE. The sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratio of the included studies were calculated. A meta-analysis was conducted if the accuracy of a decision rule was available from at least three different experimental studies. ResultsEighteen studies satisfied the inclusion criteria. These included six ankle decision rules, specifically, the Ottawa Ankle Rules, Tuning Fork Test, Low Risk Ankle Rule, Malleolar and Midfoot Zone Algorithms, and the Bernese Ankle Rules. Meta-analysis of the Ottawa Ankle Rules (OAR), OAFR, Bernese Ankle Rules, and the Malleolar Zone Algorithm resulted in a negative likelihood ratio of 0.12, 0.14, 0.39, and 0.23, respectively. ConclusionThe OAR and OAFR are the most accurate decision rules for excluding fractures in the event of an acute ankle injury.

A CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL’S EXPERIENCE PROMOTING VALUE AT THE BEDSIDE - A CHOOSING WISELY INITIATIVE

BACKGROUND: It is estimated that 20-30% of the annual Canadian healthcare budget may be wasted on unnecessary tests and treatments. Choosing Wisely is an initiative dedicated to addressing this problem. In Canada it has focused primarily on adult healthcare. OBJECTIVES: To describe the development, implementation and initial impact of a departmental Choosing Wisely top 5 list on paediatric care at a Canadian childrens hospital. DESIGN/METHODS: After key stakeholder input and review of current specialty society lists, an inventory of potential paediatric recommendations relevant to hospital care was generated. A survey was developed and broadly administered to rank items. Two hospitalist leaders independently scored top ranking items based on ease of implementation, measurement, alignment, and value. Five final items were chosen. Baseline measurement was achieved through various hospital databases, chart review or audit where appropriate. After appointing a physician lead and developing an implementation strategy for each recommendation, the Choosing Wisely top 5 list was launched in January 2016. Recommendations were implemented using various improvement methodologies. RESULTS: Early results nine months into the initiative show large improvements in reducing unnecessary care. For example: by not automatically giving IVIG as first-line treatment for children with typical newly diagnosed ITP, usage of IVIG has decreased from an initial baseline of 85% to 20%. In the emergency department, nasopharyngeal testing for respiratory viruses has decreased by more than 80% and routine radiography for children with low risk acute ankle injuries has decreased from 86% to 57%. CONCLUSION: Developing and implementing a Choosing Wisely top 5 list at a childrens hospital aims to promote a culture of quality, evidence-based and high-value care. We have plans for further improvements in the current project, sustaining the gains already achieved, and to expand the initiative to other areas in our institution. This model, along with lessons learned, is being shared with paediatric healthcare providers across the country through presentation at meetings and rounds, as well as publication in various media and high impact journals.

P016: Low risk ankle rule, high reward-a quality improvement initiative to reduce ankle x-rays in the pediatric emergency department

Introduction: Our tertiary care institution embarked on the Choosing Wisely campaign to reduce unnecessary testing, and selected the reduction of ankle x-rays as part of its top five priority initiatives. The Low Risk Ankle Rule (LRAR), an evidence-based decision rule, has been derived and validated to clinically evaluate ankle injuries which do not require radiography. The LRAR, is cost-effective, has 100% sensitivity for clinically important ankle injuries and reduces ankle imaging rates by 30-60% in both academic and community setting. Our objective was to significantly reduce the proportion of ankle x-rays ordered for acute ankle injuries presenting to our pediatric Emergency Department (ED). Methods: Medical records were reviewed for all patients presenting to our tertiary care pediatric ED (ages 3- 18 years) with an isolated acute ankle injury from Jan 1, 2016-Sept 30, 2016. Children with outside imaging, an injury that occurred &amp;gt;72 hours prior, or those who had a repeat ED visit for same injury were excluded. Quality improvement (QI) initiatives included multidisciplinary staff education about the LRAR, posters placed within the ED highlighting the LRAR, development of a new diagnostic imaging requisition for ankle x-rays requiring use of the LRAR and collaboration with the Division of Radiology to ensure compliance with new requisition. The proportion of patients presenting to the ED with acute ankle injuries who received x-rays was measured. ED length of stay (LOS), return visits to the ED and orthopedic referrals were collected as balancing measures. Results: At baseline 88% of patients with acute ankle injuries received x-rays. Following our multiple interventions, the proportion of x-rays decreased significantly to 54%, (p&amp;lt;0.001). This decrease in x-ray rate was not associated with an increase in ED LOS, ED return visits or orthopedic referrals. There was an increase uptake of the dedicated x-ray requisition over time to 71%. Conclusion: This QI initiative to increase uptake of the LRAR, resulted in a significant reduction of ankle x-rays rates for children presenting with acute ankle injuries in our pediatric ED without increasing LOS, return visits or need for orthopedic referrals for missed injuries. Just as in the derivation and validation studies, the reductions have been sustained and reduced unnecessary testing and ionizing radiation.

Impact of Clinical Decision Support on Radiography for Acute Ankle Injuries: A Randomized Trial.

IntroductionWhile only 15–20% of patients with foot and ankle injuries presenting to urgent care centers have clinically significant fractures, most undergo radiography. We examined the impact of electronic point-of-care clinical decision support (CDS) on adherence to the Ottawa Ankle Rules (OAR), as well as use and yield of foot and ankle radiographs in patients with acute ankle injury.MethodsWe obtained institutional review board approval for this randomized controlled study performed April 18, 2012—December 15, 2013. All ordering providers credentialed at an urgent care affiliated with a quaternary care academic hospital were randomized to either receive or not receive CDS, based on the OAR and integrated into the physician order-entry system, with feedback at the time of imaging order. If the patient met OAR low-risk criteria, providers were advised against imaging and could either cancel the order or ignore the alert. We identified patients with foot and ankle complaints via ICD-9 billing codes and electronic health records and radiology reports reviewed for those who were eligible. Chi-square was used to compare adherence to the OAR (primary outcome), radiography utilization rate and radiography yield of foot and ankle imaging (secondary outcomes) between the intervention and control groups.ResultsOf 14,642 patients seen at urgent care during the study period, 613 (4.2%, representing 632 visits) presented with acute ankle injury and were eligible for application of the OAR; 374 (59.2%) of these were seen by control-group providers. In the intervention group, CDS adherence was higher for both ankle (239/258=92.6% vs. 231/374=61.8%, p=0.02) and foot radiography (209/258=81.0% vs. 238/374=63.6%; p<0.01). However, ankle radiography use was higher in the intervention group (166/258=64.3% vs. 183/374=48.9%; p<0.01), while foot radiography use (141/258=54.6% vs. 202/374=54.0%; p=0.95) was not. Radiography yield was also higher in the intervention group (26/307=8.5% vs. 18/385=4.7%; p=0.04).ConclusionClinical decision support, previously demonstrated to improve guideline adherence for high-cost imaging, can also improve guideline adherence for radiography – as demonstrated by increased OAR adherence and increased imaging yield.

Injuries during the international floorball tournaments from 2012 to 2015

BackgroundFloorball is a running indoor team sport that has growing popularity worldwide. Some prospective studies have investigated injuries in national floorball leagues, but such studies at the international level are...

LANDING-RELATED ANKLE INJURIES DO NOT OCCUR IN PLANTARFLEXION AS ONCE THOUGHT: A VIDEO ANALYSIS OF ANKLE INJURIES IN WORLD-CLASS VOLLEYBALL FROM THE FIVB INJURY SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM

BackgroundAnkle sprains are the most prevalent injury in volleyball and it is suggested they result from player contact at the net. Traditionally, ankle sprains are thought to happen in a...

The Morphology and Prevalence of the Deltoid Complex Ligament of the Ankle.

Systematic review of level III studies: prospective studies.

P086: Accuracy of the Ottawa Ankle Rules when applied by allied health providers in a pediatric emergency department

Introduction: The Ottawa Ankle Rules (OAR) are a clinical decision tool used to minimize unnecessary radiographs in ankle and foot injuries. The OAR has been shown to be a reliable rule to exclude fractures in children over 5 years of age. However, there is limited data to support its use by other health care workers in children. Our objective was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the OAR, to detect clinically significant fractures, when applied by allied health providers (AHPs). Methods: Children aged 5 to 17 years presenting with an acute ankle or foot injury were enrolled. Patients assessed by a physician prior to an AHP, presenting for reassessment or &gt;24 hours after the injury, having open, penetrating or neurovascular injury, or multiple injuries were excluded. Patients with metabolic bone disease, a previous x-ray, or the inability to communicate or ambulate before the injury were also excluded. Baseline data on x-ray use was collected in a convenience sample of 100 patients. AHPs then completed an OAR learning module. Then in phase 2, AHPs applied the OAR to a convenience sample of 186 patients. Both AHPs and physicians performed inter-observer assessments. Results: When AHP’s applied the ankle portion of the OAR, the sensitivity was 88% (95% CI 46.7-99.3) and the specificity was 32.5% (95% CI 24.5-41.6) for clinically significant fractures. When AHP’s applied the foot portion of the OAR, the sensitivity was 87.5% (95% CI 46.7-99.3) and the specificity was 15.6% (95% CI 7.0-30.1) for clinically significant fractures. In total, 2 clinically significant fractures (1 foot fracture and 1 ankle fracture) were missed by AHP’s. Inter-observer agreement was κ=0.24 for the ankle rule and κ=0.32 for the foot rule. The missed ankle fracture had a positive OAR when performed by a physician as an inter-observer assessment. The missed foot fracture was a distal metatarsal fracture that was outside of the “foot zone” as defined by the OAR. Conclusion: The sensitivity of the OAR when applied by AHP’s was very good. Both clinically significant fractures that were missed by AHP’s would likely have been picked up by a physician assessment. More training and practice using the OAR would likely improve AHP’s inter-observer reliability. Our data suggest the OAR may be a useful tool for AHP’s to apply as a screening tool prior to physician assessment.

The proportion of distal fibula Salter–Harris type I epiphyseal fracture in the paediatric population with acute ankle injury

Ankle injuries are common among the paediatric population. There are few prospective studies utilizing MRI to diagnose a clinically suspected Salter-Harris type I of the distal fibula (SH1FDF). The aim of this study was to examine the proportion of clinically suspected SH1FDF in children. All paediatric patients with ankle injury, seen at the emergency room from September 2012 to May 2013 at a single institution, underwent a standardized clinical examination, and their radiographs were obtained if found necessary. All images and data were recorded prospectively and patients suspected of having SH1FDF were referred for MRI of the ankle joint. Out of 391 paediatric patients seen at the emergency room with ankle injury, 38 patients had a clinical suspicion of SH1FDF. A total of 31 patients, 18 male and 13 female, with a mean age of 10 ± 2.86 years, were included in the study. Only seven patients were excluded from the study. MRI was obtained on an average of 6.9 ± 2.87 days. None of the included patients had evidence of SH1FDF on MRI. Our study and review of the literature verifies the high false-positive rate of clinically suspected SH1FDF. Most children had ligamentous lesions, bone contusion or joint effusion, rather than SH1FDF.

Jump Landing Characteristics Predict Lower Extremity Injuries in Indoor Team Sports.

The aim of this study is to investigate the predictive value of landing stability and technique to gain insight into risk factors for ankle and knee injuries in indoor team sport players. Seventy-five male and female basketball, volleyball or korfball players were screened by measuring landing stability after a single-leg jump landing and landing technique during a repeated counter movement jump by detailed 3-dimensional kinematics and kinetics. During the season 11 acute ankle injuries were reported along with 6 acute and 7 overuse knee injuries by the teams' physical therapist. Logistic regression analysis showed less landing stability in the forward and diagonal jump direction (OR 1.01-1.10, p≤0.05) in players who sustained an acute ankle injury. Furthermore landing technique with a greater ankle dorsiflexion moment increased the risk for acute ankle injury (OR 2.16, p≤0.05). A smaller knee flexion moment and greater vertical ground reaction force increased the risk of an overuse knee injury (OR 0.29 and 1.13 respectively, p≤0.05). Less one-legged landing stability and suboptimal landing technique were shown in players sustaining an acute ankle and overuse knee injury compared to healthy players. Determining both landing stability and technique may further guide injury prevention programs.

Implementation of the Ottawa ankle rules by general practitioners in an emergency department of a Turkish district hospital

The present objective was to assess implementation of the Ottawa ankle rules (OAR) as a method of fracture prediction in the emergency department (ED) of a Turkish state hospital. Patients who presented to the ED of our hospital with acute ankle injury were evaluated. All were examined by a general practitioner, after which a series of ankle and foot x-rays (anteroposterior and lateral) were performed. Radiography was examined by a radiologist and an orthopedic surgeon, both of whom were blinded to OAR results. Radiographic results were compared to results of OAR implementation. Sensitivity and specificity of the OAR in the diagnosis of fracture was calculated. A total of 251 (61.97%) patients were diagnosed as positive (+) for fracture after OAR implementation, 154 (38.02%) as negative (-). Clinically significant fracture was detected in 62 (15.3%) patients. A total of 61 (98.4%) patients with significant fracture were OAR (+); 1 (1.6%) was OAR (-). However, 190 (55.4%) patients without fracture were OAR (+); 153 (44.6%) were OAR (-) (p<0.001). Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of OAR implementation in the prediction of fracture were 98.39%, 44.61%, 24.30%, and 99.35%, respectively. Area under the curve (AUC) was 0.71. According to these results, it was determined that use of radiography could be reduced by 38.02% if the OAR were implemented. The OAR are a highly sensitive means of screening of patients with acute ankle and mid-foot injuries. Application of the OAR by well-trained general practitioners can lead to significant reduction in the number of x-rays performed, thereby reducing cost of treatment and radiation exposure, in addition to saving time for patients and staff.