Understanding True Knee Dislocations: Evaluation and Management

Show Notes

Take Home Points

1. Up to 50% of true knee dislocations will spontaneously reduce prior to arrival. Be suspicious of a dislocation in any patient who describes the joint moving out of place or if they have significant swelling, joint effusion or ecchymosis despite normal X-rays
2. In all patients with suspected dislocation, perform a neurovascular exam immediately as popliteal artery injury is common. If they’ve got an absent DP or PT pulse, reduce immediately and get a CT angiogram as quickly as possible to assess for popliteal injuries
3. If distal pulses are intact, you can either do ABIs and if normal, observe and repeat them or get a CTA. If the ABI is abnormal or the patient had an absent or decreased pulse at any point, get the CTA

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