Foot Compartment Syndrome

Abstract

Compartment syndrome of the foot can occur with severe soft tissue injuries to the foot, with or without fractures in the foot. With significant trauma, especially crush injuries with fractures Bibbo et al. (Pediatr Emerg Care 16:244–248, 2000) to the foot, one must have a high index of suspicion for compartment syndrome. If compartment syndrome is suspected, some authors recommend measuring compartment pressures in the operating room or under sedation, while others are skeptical of the validity of compartment pressure measurements in the foot. These authors recommend taking the patient directly to the operating room to release the compartments. The most sensitive compartment to measure is reported to be the calcaneal compartment. All nine compartments should be released if the decision is to proceed to surgical decompression. There is some controversy about the outcomes of compartment syndrome release being worse than the natural history of nonoperative treatment of foot compartment syndrome, and some authors no longer recommend foot compartment releases.