The Ottawa Knee Rule is a clinical decision rule used to identify patients who may need an X-ray following an acute knee injury. This rule is primarily used in the emergency department setting and is applicable to patients who have suffered a recent knee injury within the past seven days. 

The clinical utility of the Ottawa Knee Rule is to reduce the number of unnecessary knee radiographs, thereby decreasing healthcare costs and radiation exposure. It helps clinicians decide whether a knee X-ray is necessary based on the presence of certain criteria, including age, tenderness at specific points, ability to bear weight, and ability to flex the knee.

Exclusion criteria for the Ottawa Knee Rule include patients under the age of 18, those with knee injuries older than a week, patients with isolated skin injuries, and those with altered level of consciousness or with multiple painful injuries which may distract from the knee pain.

Ottawa Knee Rule

# Description:
The Ottawa Knee Rule is a clinical decision rule used to identify patients who may need an X-ray following an acute knee injury. This rule is primarily used in the emergency department setting and is applicable to patients who have suffered a recent knee injury within the past seven days. 

The clinical utility of the Ottawa Knee Rule is to reduce the number of unnecessary knee radiographs, thereby decreasing healthcare costs and radiation exposure. It helps clinicians decide whether a knee X-ray is necessary based on the presence of certain criteria, including age, tenderness at specific points, ability to bear weight, and ability to flex the knee.

Exclusion criteria for the Ottawa Knee Rule include patients under the age of 18, those with knee injuries older than a week, patients with isolated skin injuries, and those with altered level of consciousness or with multiple painful injuries which may distract from the knee pain.
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# Inputs:
A. Age >= 55 (+1)
B. Tenderness at the fibular head (+1)
C. Isolated tenderness of the patella (+1)
D. Inability to flex knee to 90 degrees (+1)
E. Inability to bear weight both immediately and in the emergency department (+1)
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# Scoring:
- If score == 0, then Imaging not required
- If score >= 1, then Consider knee imaging)