Posterolateral Rotatory Drawer Test
“This test can be performed with the patient awake or under anesthesia. The patient is positioned in supine with the shoulder flexed to 90 degrees, the forearm held in supination, and the elbow is flexed between 45 and 90 degrees. The clinician fixates the patient’s forearm against the clinician’s body with one hand. With the other hand placed just proximal to the patient’s elbow, and with the thumb over the radial head, the clinician applies a distraction force to the radial and ulna. The posterolateral rotary pivot-shift test is considered positive for posterolateral rotatory instability if there is apprehension from the awake patient, or when there is a subluxation of the radial head followed by a reduction at the end of the test with the sedated patient.”1