Minimising negative ankle and foot X-rays in the Emergency Department -- are the Ottawa ankle rules good enough?

Objectives: To review fracture rates in patients who had X-rays of either the ankle or foot or both in the Emergency Department of a district hospital.

Method: A retrospective review of 2589 Emergency Department patients who had X-rays of the ankle or foot or both over a 12-month period.

Results: There were 1199 ankle X-rays taken of which 193 (16%) showed a significant fracture.