Compartmental Syndrome (MBBS India)

Compartment syndrome is a surgical emergency usually occurring secondary to trauma. The condition is marked by increased pressure within a compartment that compromises the circulation and function of the tissues within that space. Long bone fractures are the most common cause, with the leg and forearm compartments frequently affected. Patients present with pain out of proportion to the injury and may also have pallor, pulselessness, paresthesia, poikilothermia, and paralysis (the 6 Ps of compartment syndrome). Diagnosis is clinical but compartment pressure measurement can be used. Management is an emergency fasciotomy. Failure to diagnose and manage the condition results in limb loss.