The Ottawa Knee Rule: Examining Use in an Academic Emergency Department

Introduction: The Ottawa Knee Rule is a validated clinical decision rule for determining whether knee radiographs should be obtained in the setting of acute knee trauma. The objectives of this study were to assess physician knowledge of, barriers to implementation of, and compliance with the Ottawa Knee Rule in academic emergency departments (EDs), and evaluate whether patient characteristics predict guideline noncompliance.Methods: A 10 question online survey was distributed to all attending ED physicians working at three affiliated academic EDs to assess knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practice behaviors relatedto the Ottawa Knee Rule. We also performed a retrospective ED record review of patients 13 years of age and older who presented with acute knee trauma to the 3 study EDs during the 2009 calendar year, and we analyzed ED records for 19 variables.Results: ED physicians (n = 47) correctly answered 73.2% of questions assessing knowledge of the Ottawa Knee Rule. The most commonly cited barriers to implementation were “patient expectations” and system issues, such as “orthopedics referral requirement.” We retrospectively reviewed 838 records, with 260 eligible for study inclusion. The rate of Ottawa Knee Rule compliance was retrospectively determined to be 63.1%. We observed a statistically significant correlation betweenOttawa Knee Rule compliance and patient age, but not gender, insurance status, or provider type, among others.Conclusion: Compliance with the Ottawa Knee Rule among academic ED healthcare providers is poor, which was predicted by patient age and not other physician or patient variables. Improving compliance will require comprehensive educational and systemic interventions. [West J Emerg Med. 2012;13(4):366-373.

The Ottawa Knee Rule: Examining Use in an Academic Emergency Department

INTRODUCTION: The Ottawa Knee Rule is a validated clinical decision rule for determining whether knee radiographs should be obtained in the setting of acute knee trauma. The objectives of this study were to assess physician knowledge of, barriers to implementation of, and compliance with the Ottawa Knee Rule in academic emergency departments (EDs), and evaluate whether patient characteristics predict guideline noncompliance. METHODS: A 10 question online survey was distributed to all attending ED physicians working at three affiliated academic EDs to assess knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practice behaviors related to the Ottawa Knee Rule. We also performed a retrospective ED record review of patients 13 years of age and older who presented with acute knee trauma to the 3 study EDs during the 2009 calendar year, and we analyzed ED records for 19 variables. RESULTS: ED physicians (n = 47) correctly answered 73.2% of questions assessing knowledge of the Ottawa Knee Rule. The most commonly cited barriers to implementation were “patient expectations” and system issues, such as “orthopedics referral requirement.” We retrospectively reviewed 838 records, with 260 eligible for study inclusion. The rate of Ottawa Knee Rule compliance was retrospectively determined to be 63.1%. We observed a statistically significant correlation between Ottawa Knee Rule compliance and patient age, but not gender, insurance status, or provider type, among others. CONCLUSION: Compliance with the Ottawa Knee Rule among academic ED healthcare providers is poor, which was predicted by patient age and not other physician or patient variables. Improving compliance will require comprehensive educational and systemic interventions

Stability Outcomes following Computer-Assisted ACL Reconstruction

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine whether intraoperative prereconstruction stability measurements and/or patient characteristics were associated with final knee stability after computer-assisted ACL reconstruction. Methods. This was a retrospective review of all patients who underwent computer-assisted single-bundle ACL reconstruction by a single surgeon. Prereconstruction intraoperative stability measurements were correlated with patient characteristics and postreconstruction stability measurements. 143 patients were included (87 male and 56 female). Average age was 29.8 years (SD ± 11.8). Results. Females were found to have significantly more pre- and postreconstruction internal rotation than males (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001, resp.). Patients with additional intra-articular injuries demonstrated more prereconstruction anterior instability than patients with isolated ACL tears (P < 0.001). After reconstruction, these patients also had higher residual anterior translation (P = 0.01). Among all patients with ACL reconstructions, the percent of correction of anterior translation was found to be significantly higher than the percent of correction for internal or external rotation (P < 0.001). Conclusion. Anterior translation was corrected the most using a single-bundle ACL reconstruction. Females had higher pre- and postoperative internal rotation. Patients with additional injuries had greater original anterior translation and less operative correction of anterior translation compared to patients with isolated ACL tears

Adolescent differences in knee stability following computer-assisted anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery is being increasingly performed in the adolescent population. Computer navigation offers a reliable way to quantitatively measure knee stability during ACL reconstruction. A retrospective review of all adolescent patients (&lt;18 years old) who underwent computer-assisted primary single bundle ACL reconstruction by a single surgeon from 2007 to 2012 was performed. The average age was 15.8 years (SD 3.3). Female adolescents were found to have higher internal rotation than male adolescents both pre- (25.6° </span><em>vs </em><span>21.7°, P=0.026) and post-reconstruction (20.1° </span><em>vs </em><span>15.1°, P=0.005). Compared to adults, adolescents demonstrated significantly higher internal rotation both pre- (23.3° </span><em>vs </em><span>21.5°, P=0.047) and post-reconstruction (17.1° </span><em>vs </em><span>14.4°, P=0.003). They also had higher total rotation both pre- (40.9° </span><em>vs </em><span>38.4°, P=0.02) and post-reconstruction when compared to adults (31.56° </span><em>vs </em><span>28.67°, P=0.005). In adolescent patients, anterior translation was corrected more than rotation. Females had higher pre- and residual post-reconstruction internal rotation compared to males. When compared to adults, adolescents had increased internal rotation and total rotation both pre- and post-reconstruction. </span></p></div></div></div></div