Comparison and convergence of compartment syndrome techniques: a narrative review

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Compartment syndrome (CS) continues to be a legitimate orthopedic emergency as it leads to thousands of amputations and permanent nerve and tissue damage to undiagnosed patients for more than eight hours. In CS, intracompartmental pressure is elevated, causing reduced blood flow inside the limb compartments. An erroneous diagnosis may result in unnecessary fasciotomies, the only treatment for this condition.

Areas Covered

This review examines the previous and current diagnostic and therapeutic practices for compartment syndrome. It also performs a comparative analysis of each diagnostic technique and its foresights.

Expert Opinion

Currently, most clinicians rely on a physical examination of the patient to diagnose CS. The primary reason for the physical examination is the lack of a gold-standard device. The invasive intracompartmental pressure (ICP) measurement technique is still the most commonly used. On the other hand, many noninvasive approaches have the potential to be used as diagnostic tools; however, more research is needed before they can be accepted as standard clinical approaches.

KEYWORDS:

• Compartment syndrome
• compartment pressure
• tissue oxygenation
• invasive techniques
• non-invasive techniques
• fasciotomy

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge CSIR- Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Chandigarh (India) and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh (India) for their support and encouragement in carrying out this research work.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewers disclosure

One reviewer discloses having financial interest in MY01. Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no other relevant financial relationships or otherwise to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.