Ottawa Knee Rule

Investigator: Ian Stiell

Summary: The Ottawa Knee Rule is a simple guideline developed to aid emergency physicians in deciding when to use radiography for patients with injuries to the knee. Prospective validation of the Ottawa Knee Rule has shown this decision rule to be 100% sensitive for identifying fractures of the knee, to be reliable and acceptable, and to have the potential to allow physicians to reduce the use of radiography in patients with acute knee injury.

Available in several formats here.

References:

• Stiell IG, Wells GA, Hoag RH, Sivilotti MLA, Cacciotti TF, Verbeek PR, Greenway KT, McDowell I, Cwinn AA, Greenberg GH, Nichol G, Michael JA. Implementation of the Ottawa Knee Rule for the Use of Radiography in Acute Knee Injuries. Journal of the American Medical Association 1997; 278:2075-2079.
• Stiell IG, Greenberg GH, Wells GA, McDowell I, Cwinn AA, Smith NA, Cacciotti TF, Sivilotti MLA. Prospective validation of a decision rule for use of radiography in acute knee injury. Journal of the American Medical Association 1996; 275:611-615.
• Stiell IG, Wells GA, McDowell I, Greenberg GH, McKnight RD, Cwinn AA, Quinn JV, Yeats, A. Use of Radiography in Acute Knee Injuries: Need for Clinical Decision Rules. Academic Emergency Medicine 1995; 2:966-973.
• Stiell IG, Greenberg GH, Wells GA, McKnight RD, Cwinn AA, Cacciotti T, McDowell I, Smith NA. Derivation of a decision rule for the use of radiography in acute knee injuries. Annals of Emergency Medicine 1995; 26:405-413.