title: Delayed use of hyperbaric oxygen for treatment of a model anterior compartment syndrome.
abstract: This study examines the effect of delayed exposure to hyperbaric oxygen on muscle necrosis and edema development following compartment syndromes in the canine hindlimb. Compartment syndromes (100 mm Hg for 8 h) were generated in one anterolateral compartment of six anesthetized dogs. After a 2-h delay, three 1-h hyperbaric oxygen treatments (2 atm absolute pure oxygen) were given during the next 12 h. Two days later, technetium-99m stannous pyrophosphate (99mTc Sn-PYP) was injected intravenously; 3 h later, samples were obtained from the pressurized and contralateral control muscles, weighed for edema development, counted for 99mTC Sn-PYP uptake, and evaluated histologically. Hyperbaric oxygen treatments, even when delayed 2 h, reduced muscle necrosis and intramuscular edema to negligible levels (p less than 0.05) compared with untreated animals. In addition, muscle morphology remained essentially normal in all hyperbaric oxygen-treated animals. We conclude that even if hyperbaric oxygen treatments are delayed 2 h, edema and muscle necrosis are reduced significantly in a model compartment syndrome.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000868:Anterior Compartment Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D003161:Compartment Syndromes / Q000628:therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D004487:Edema / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D006614:Hindlimb; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation; D009132:Muscles / Q000473:pathology; D009336:Necrosis; D013997:Time Factors