外科ジャーナル

Compartment Syndrome–Presentations and Principles

Abstract

Krishanth Naidu and Naveen Narayanasamy

Background: Compartment syndrome (CS) remains an elusive diagnosis with limited awareness despite progress of glorious investigative, diagnostic and imaging modalities. This review aims to reiterate the surgical fraternity to the fragility one faces with the concept of CS.

Methods: A retrospective desk review of published literature has been undertaken through the review of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Medline, EMBASE and Web of Science databases to portray the spectrum of presentation with involvement of rare sites in CS that have the capacity to stupefy the surgical fraternity.

Results: 18 articles and book chapters were reviewed from the search chain of over 200 articles. Through literature review it is appreciated that the sites of involvement with CS are varied and can encompass regions that are once thought unlikely. There is great degree of variance in the incidence of this syndrome. Though the implications are grave, the diagnosis of the syndrome is complex given the presentation spectrum.

Conclusion: Despite its immemorial descriptions and characterization as a surgical emergency, compartment syndrome remains an elusive diagnosis given its lack of awareness and wide presentation profile.