Detection Rate of Fractures by Triage Nurses Applying the Ottawa Foot Rule

Emergency departments (EDs) face overcrowding, particularly during rush hours. One of the reasons for this overcrowding is the admission of minor trauma patients (1). Acute foot injuries are the primary reason for applying to the ED with minor trauma, but there is no fracture detected in most of the patients upon radiological visualization (2, 3). Despite the low incidence of fractures, the common clinical practice in most EDs is to evaluate these patients using radiography to avoid medicolegal problems and patients’ dissatisfaction in addition to the real indications (4-7).