title: Relevance of mangled extremity severity score to compartment syndromes.
abstract: This study investigated the relevance of a mangled extremity severity score (MESS) to the evaluation of intracompartmental pressure in injured patients. We measured intracompartmental pressures with a modification of the Whitesides method and compared these values with MESS in 27 patients after trauma. For 5 of them fasciotomy was necessary to relieve high intracompartmental pressures. In our series MESS seemed to correlate with intracompartmental pressure values (r = 0.733, P < 0.05). We conclude that the MESS system provides objective criteria in determining the risk of a compartment syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Gazi University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Uslu
authors.forename: N S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Altun
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cila
authors.forename: O S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Atik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003161:Compartment Syndromes / Q000517:prevention & control; D005121:Extremities / Q000293:injuries*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011312:Pressure; D011379:Prognosis