title: Compartmental pressure in adults with tibial fracture.
abstract: Acute compartment syndrome is associated with tibial fractures and failure to diagnose it leads to grave consequences. This study was conceived with the aim of determining the intra-compartmental pressure in adults with closed tibial fractures and intended to provide early diagnosis of acute compartment syndrome. The Whitesides injection method was used, using hospital [corrected] available materials. The intra-compartmental pressure in the anterior and deep posterior compartments of 52 patients with closed tibial fractures was measured at presentation and 4 hourly for 24 h. In three patients, the pressure was very high, and the differential pressure (i.e. the difference between the diastolic blood pressure and the intra-compartmental pressure) was less than or equal to [corrected] 30 mmHg, which was diagnostic of acute compartment syndrome. They were all treated by fasciotomy. It is concluded that Whitesides' [corrected] method can be used to diagnose acute compartment syndrome. The apparatus is easy to set up, cheap [corrected] and therefore ideal for use in our environment where sophisticated devices of tissue pressure measurement are not available.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. gbemidare@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Johnson D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Ogunlusi
authors.forename: Lawrence M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Oginni
authors.forename: Innocent C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Ikem
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003161:Compartment Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D000071938:Fasciotomy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013978:Tibial Fractures / Q000150:complications*; D016896:Treatment Outcome