Nurse-initiated radiographic-test protocol for ankle injuries: A randomized controlled trial

Ankle injuries are common complaints in emergency departments (EDs), which account for 3.5% and 4.5% of all presentations in the United Kingdom and North America (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013; Health and Social Care Information Centre, 2013). Differentiating between an ankle sprain and a fracture without clinical decision rules or radiographic assistance is difficult. Although clinical decision rules are available, they are not fully adopted to predict ankle fractures. Therefore, most patients with ankle injuries are requested to undergo ankle or foot radiographic tests, but only 16 and 15% of the ankle and foot radiographs have showed a fracture (Crosswell, Leaman,& Phung, 2014).
Source: International Emergency Nursing - Category: Nursing Authors: Source Type: research