• Tim Dwyer, David Burns, Aaron Nauth, Kaitlin Kawam, and Richard Brull.
• Department of Surgery, University of Toronto Division of Orthopaedics, Toronto, Ontario, Canada tim.dwyer@wchospital.ca.
• Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2021 Dec 1; 46 (12): 1091-1099.

AbstractAcute compartment syndrome (ACS) is a potentially reversible orthopedic surgical emergency leading to tissue ischemia and ultimately cell death. Diagnosis of ACS can be challenging, as neither clinical symptoms nor signs are sufficiently sensitive. The cardinal symptom associated with ACS is pain reported in excess of what would otherwise be expected for the underlying injury, and not reasonably managed by opioid-based analgesia. Regional anesthesia (RA) techniques are traditionally discouraged in clinical settings where the development of ACS is a concern as sensory and motor nerve blockade may mask symptoms and signs of ACS. This Education article addresses the most common trauma and elective orthopedic surgical procedures in adults with a view towards assessing their respective risk of ACS and offering suggestions regarding the suitability of RA for each type of surgery.© American Society of Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

19 keywords...

hide…