Stress diagnostics of the sprained ankle: evaluation of the anterior drawer test with and without anesthesia.

This study investigated the effect of anesthesia of the peroneal communis nerve on stress diagnostics in acute ankle ligament rupture. Using a special holding device, the anterior drawer sign was measured under loading of 4 to 15 kg with and without a peroneal nerve block. In 65 patients, we found a highly significant difference between these two conditions. In a total of 110 patients, the measurement of anterior drawer sign was correlated to other diagnostic procedures. Absolute values of mechanical anterior drawer sign had a correlation of 0.479, whereas the difference of the measurements in injured and noninjured feet correlated with 0.582. We suggest anesthesia in stress diagnostics to increase accuracy. The anterior drawer sign alone, even under anesthesia, is not reliable to detect the full extent of the ligament damage.