The Ottawa knee rules are a clinical decision-making strategy for determining which patients require an x-ray for knee pain following trauma.
A patient with knee pain qualifies for knee radiographs if any of the following apply:
- 55 years or older
- point tenderness at the fibular head
- isolated point tenderness of the patella
- inability to flex the knee to 90°
- inability to weight bear, i.e. inability to take four steps immediately after the injury and in the emergency department.
Adapted from: Stiell IG, Greenberg GH, Wells GA, et al. Derivation of a decision rule for the use of radiograph in acute knee injuries. Ann Emerg Med 1995;26:405–13
Accessed from the Emergency Care Institute website at https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/ecat/appendices/ottawa-knee