Implementation of the Low Risk Ankle Rule

NCT ID: NCT00785876

Last Updated: 2017-10-09

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

3000 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2008-11-30

Study Completion Date

2011-11-30

Brief Summary

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Ankle injuries are a very common injury in children. Each year approximately 35000 kids present to Ontario emergency departments (ED) with this problem. Right now, about 90% of these children get x-rays of the injured ankle, even though only 12% of these x-rays show a break in the bone. Some excellent research has created some rules that doctors can use to help them decide which children really need x-rays. Unfortunately, even though these rules have been proven to safely reduce x-rays by as much as two-thirds, most doctors are not using these rules.

Therefore, this study will be the first to put the best paediatric ankle x-ray rule, the Low Rick Ankle Rule, into physician practice in EDs. Our main goal is to determine how much we can reduce ankle x-ray rates in EDs that use this rule regularly versus those that do not. If we show that doctors can safely use this rule regularly and the number of ankle x-rays will be significantly less, this will lessen unnecessary potentially harmful radiation exposure in children, these children will spend less time in an ED, and the health care system will save money.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Ankle Injury

Keywords

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Paediatric Emergency Department Ankle Injury Low risk ankle rule

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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1

Control Sites

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

2

Intervention Sites

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

LRAR Implementation

Intervention Type OTHER

Pre-LRAR - no changes in the usual procedures for the first 26 weeks except for flagging of all paediatric charts with ankle injuries, ED documentation which will not refer to the LRAR and phone follow up.

Post-LRAR: At 27 weeks, in addition to the aforementioned ED collection sheet and phone follow up, the implementation strategy for the LRAR rule and related management will be introduced at the intervention hospitals.

Interventions

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LRAR Implementation

Pre-LRAR - no changes in the usual procedures for the first 26 weeks except for flagging of all paediatric charts with ankle injuries, ED documentation which will not refer to the LRAR and phone follow up.

Post-LRAR: At 27 weeks, in addition to the aforementioned ED collection sheet and phone follow up, the implementation strategy for the LRAR rule and related management will be introduced at the intervention hospitals.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* All otherwise healthy children between the ages of 3 and 16 years of age that present to the participating EDs with an isolated acute (\< 72 hours) blunt ankle injury due to any mechanism of injury will be eligible for the study. The age criteria were chosen to match those ages in which the LRAR was validated.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Children with ankle injuries who were referred from outside the hospital with radiographs.
2. Children with ankle injuries who returned for reassessment of the same ankle injury.
3. Children with open wounds on their ankle and/or foot
4. All children at risk for pathological fractures such as those with congenital or acquired generalized bony disease (Appendix I). Clinical presentation and risks in these cases may be altered.
5. Congenital anomalies of the feet and/or ankles (eg club feet, tarsal coalition). These abnormalities may have features which may complicate clinical assessment.
6. Patients with known coagulopathies. Underlying hemarthrosis may complicate clinical assessment.
7. Patients with cognitive and/or developmental delay. These patients may not localize pain.
8. Injuries greater than 72 hours old. The signs and symptoms of the most common fracture, the Salter-Harris I fracture of the distal fibula, may be diminished. Our ability to make this clinical diagnosis with confidence may thus be compromised.
9. Recent history of surgery or closed reduction of the same ankle within the last 3 months. These prior events may confuse current presenting symptomatology and ability to weight-bear and recover normally.
10. Patients with low risk injuries who do not have phone or electronic mail access and/or have an insurmountable language barrier. This will preclude follow up.
Minimum Eligible Age

3 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

16 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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The Hospital for Sick Children

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Kathy Boutis

Staff Physician

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Kathy Boutis, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

The Hospital for Sick Children

Locations

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Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Site Status

North York General Hospital

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Site Status

The Hospital for Sick Children

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Site Status

Toronto East General Hospital

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Site Status

Countries

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Canada

References

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Boutis K, Grootendorst P, Willan A, Plint AC, Babyn P, Brison RJ, Sayal A, Parker M, Mamen N, Schuh S, Grimshaw J, Johnson D, Narayanan U. Effect of the Low Risk Ankle Rule on the frequency of radiography in children with ankle injuries. CMAJ. 2013 Oct 15;185(15):E731-8. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.122050. Epub 2013 Aug 12.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 23939215 (View on PubMed)

Boutis K, von Keyserlingk C, Willan A, Narayanan UG, Brison R, Grootendorst P, Plint AC, Parker M, Goeree R. Cost Consequence Analysis of Implementing the Low Risk Ankle Rule in Emergency Departments. Ann Emerg Med. 2015 Nov;66(5):455-463.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2015.05.027. Epub 2015 Jul 14.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 26187612 (View on PubMed)

Related Links

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26187612

Link to Abstract: : Ann Emerg Med. 2015 Nov;66(5):455-

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23939215

Link to Abstract: Effect of the Low Risk Ankle Rule on the frequency of radiography in children with ankle injuries.

Other Identifiers

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1000012792

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id