• G Giannotti, S M Cohn, M Brown, J E Varela, M G McKenney, and J A Wiseberg.
• Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School, Illinois, USA.
• J Trauma. 2000 Mar 1; 48 (3): 396-9; discussion 399-401.

ObjectiveTo determine the utility of near-infrared spectroscopy in the diagnosis of lower extremity compartment syndrome (CS).MethodsNine patients with CS confirmed by physical examination and elevated compartment pressures (64 +/- 17 mm Hg) were evaluated before and after fasciotomy. Control readings were also performed on 33 surgical patients who had no evidence of CS. The deltoid muscle was used as a reference value.ResultsThe deltoid muscle oxygen saturation (StO2) readings revealed a mean = 84 +/- 17% prefasciotomy and mean = 83 +/- 12% postfasciotomy in the CS group. The control group had a mean StO2 of 83 +/- 11%. In the CS group, the leg compartment with the highest pressure had a StO2 mean = 56 +/- 27% before fasciotomy. This value was statistically significantly lower (p < 0.05) than either the postfasciotomy mean StO2 in that compartment (82 +/- 16%) or the values found in matched control patients with no evidence of CS (87 +/- 7%).ConclusionNear-infrared spectroscopy-derived StO2 values in the lower extremities of trauma patients with CS were diminished relative to the control patients and usually normalized after fasciotomy. Near-infrared spectroscopy evaluation may offer a rapid, noninvasive method of assessing extremities at risk for CS.

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