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Can patients apply the Ottawa ankle rules to themselves?

Blackham, Julian; Claridge, Tina; Benger, Jonathan

Can patients apply the Ottawa ankle rules to themselves? Thumbnail


Authors

Julian Blackham

Tina Claridge

Jonathan Benger



Abstract

Objective: To determine whether patients with an ankle injury obtained the same results as clinicians when applying the Ottawa ankle rules (a validated clinical decision rule) to themselves. Methods: Patients aged >15 years presenting to an inner city emergency department within 48 h of an ankle injury were asked to assess their own injury using the Ottawa ankle rules. The results of their self-assessment were compared with those of a treating clinician. Results: Poor interobserver agreement was found between patients and clinicians. Conclusions: Making the Ottawa ankle rule more widely available to the general public is unlikely to reduce healthcare demand. Indeed, given the apparently low specificity of the rule, demand could actually increase as a result.

Citation

Blackham, J., Claridge, T., & Benger, J. (2008). Can patients apply the Ottawa ankle rules to themselves?. Emergency Medicine Journal, 25(11), 750-751. https://doi.org/10.1136/emj.2008.057877

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Nov 1, 2008
Deposit Date Jan 21, 2010
Publicly Available Date Dec 2, 2016
Journal Emergency Medicine Journal
Print ISSN 1472-0205
Electronic ISSN 1472-0213
Publisher BMJ Publishing Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 25
Issue 11
Pages 750-751
DOI https://doi.org/10.1136/emj.2008.057877
Keywords Ottawa ankle rule, patients
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1007627
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/emj.2008.057877