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. 2014 May;4(3):432-5.
doi: 10.4103/2141-9248.133473.

Ottawa ankle rules and subjective surgeon perception to evaluate radiograph necessity following foot and ankle sprain

Res Pires  1 , Aa Pereira  2 , Gm Abreu-E-Silva  3 , Pj Labronici  4 , Lb Figueiredo  3 , Al Godoy-Santos  5 , M Kfuri  6
Affiliations

Ottawa ankle rules and subjective surgeon perception to evaluate radiograph necessity following foot and ankle sprain

Res Pires et al. Ann Med Health Sci Res. 2014 May.

Abstract

Background: Foot and ankle injuries are frequent in emergency departments. Although only a few patients with foot and ankle sprain present fractures and the fracture patterns are almost always simple, lack of fracture diagnosis can lead to poor functional outcomes.

Aim: The present study aims to evaluate the reliability of the Ottawa ankle rules and the orthopedic surgeon subjective perception to assess foot and ankle fractures after sprains.

Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2012 to December 2012. Ethical approval was granted. Two hundred seventy-four adult patients admitted to the emergency department with foot and/or ankle sprain were evaluated by an orthopedic surgeon who completed a questionnaire prior to radiographic assessment. The Ottawa ankle rules and subjective perception of foot and/or ankle fractures were evaluated on the questionnaire.

Results: Thirteen percent (36/274) patients presented fracture. Orthopedic surgeon subjective analysis showed 55.6% sensitivity, 90.1% specificity, 46.5% positive predictive value and 92.9% negative predictive value. The general orthopedic surgeon opinion accuracy was 85.4%. The Ottawa ankle rules presented 97.2% sensitivity, 7.8% specificity, 13.9% positive predictive value, 95% negative predictive value and 19.9% accuracy respectively. Weight-bearing inability was the Ottawa ankle rule item that presented the highest reliability, 69.4% sensitivity, 61.6% specificity, 63.1% accuracy, 21.9% positive predictive value and 93% negative predictive value respectively.

Conclusion: The Ottawa ankle rules showed high reliability for deciding when to take radiographs in foot and/or ankle sprains. Weight-bearing inability was the most important isolated item to predict fracture presence. Orthopedic surgeon subjective analysis to predict fracture possibility showed a high specificity rate, representing a confident method to exclude unnecessary radiographic exams.

Keywords: Ankle; Ankle fractures; Ankle injuries; Foot; Fractures.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ottawa ankle rules for foot/ankle injuries
Graph 1
Graph 1
Sensitivity, specificity and receiver operating characteristic curve of Ottawa ankle rule items and subjective perception of the orthopedic surgeon concerning fracture occurrence
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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