Validation of Ottawa ankle rules protocol in Greek athletes: study in the emergency departments of a district general hospital and a sports injuries clinic
E. Papacostas et al., Validation of Ottawa ankle rules protocol in Greek athletes: study in the emergency departments of a district general hospital and a sports injuries clinic, BR J SP MED, 35(6), 2001, pp. 445-447
Objective-To validate the Ottawa ankle rules protocol for predicting ankle
and midfoot fractures in Greek athletes.
Method-A prospective survey in the emergency departments of a district gene
ral hospital and a sports injury clinic in Greece over nine months. A clini
cal evaluation was made of 122 patients with acute ankle and/or midfoot inj
ury, and then radiographs were taken.
Results-Nine ankle and eight midfoot fractures were detected. The sensitivi
ty of the Ottawa ankle rules protocol in predicting fractures in both the m
alleolar and midfoot zones was 100%. The negative predictive value for each
of these areas was also 1.0. Specificity was estimated to be 0.3 for ankle
fractures and 0.4 for midfoot fractures. Positive predictive values were 0
.16 and 0.28 respectively. A possible reduction of up to 28.7% was found in
the need for radiography.
Conclusions-Use of the Ottawa ankle rules protocol in evaluating injured Gr
eek athletes resulted in 100% sensitivity when performed by orthopaedic res
idents or sports medicine doctors, and had the potential to reduce the use
of radiography.