Comparison of Shetty ankle test and Ottawa ankle rules in ankle injuries

Ö. Avinca, M. Taş

Emergency Department, Health Sciences University, Gazi Yasargil Research and Training Hospital, Diyarbakir, Turkey. droneravinca@gmail.com

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• Orthopedics
• Traumatology

OBJECTIVE: Foot and ankle injuries are the most common extremity trauma and have an important place among the admissions to the emergency service. Ankle injuries are the most frequent form of orthopedic emergencies. Currently, Ottawa ankle rules (ORL) is the most popular test used worldwide for the ankle injuries. Shetty test is an important test used to evaluate the clinical status of patients admitted for the ankle trauma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study was initiated in the emergency service between May 1, 2018, and May 1, 2019, after the approval of the Ethics Committee. The patients were classified according to gender, age, and admission, Ottawa test results, Shetty test results, and radiography status.

RESULTS: Shetty test can be used to differentiate between the foot sprains and fractures as a simple and inexpensive method. Despite its effectiveness, Ottawa ankle rules is not widely used due to the detailed implementation of the Ottawa ankle rules and the components of the test. The ease of applicability of the Shetty test in primary care makes the test stand out. In our study, although the sensitivity of Shetty and Ottawa tests resulted in close percentages (82.86% – 85.71%), the specificity of Ottawa test was found to be higher.

CONCLUSIONS: Detecting a fracture in emergency services is more valuable than excluding a fracture. Even though Shetty test is simple to use, we recommend Ottawa test for the foot and ankle sprains due to the legal problem that could be caused by Shetty test.

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