Pediatric Compartment Syndrome
Keywords:
Adolescent, Child, Compartment SyndromesAbstract
Introduction: Compartment syndrome (CS) is an orthopedic emergency. Diagnosis is particularly difficult in children because of the challenges inherent to communication and clinical examination. This paper aims to present a pediatric case series of CS and to analyze its etiology, diagnosis, treatment and complications as well as to assess the quality of life of the patients at least 1 year after the event.Methods: Retrospective study of children with CS treated at our institution between 2009-2020. Demographic characteristics and data on etiology, diagnosis, treatment and complications were analyzed. Quality of life was assessed using the Kidscreen 10 scale.
Results: Nine patients with CS were identified 8 male, median age 10 years. The most frequent etiologies were traumatic (n=5), postoperative (n=2), viper bite (n=1) and infectious (n=1). The lower limb was involved in 5 cases, the upper limb in 3 and the lower and upper limb bilaterally in one. In 6 patients there was an associated fracture. Median follow up was 8 months. Complete functional recovery was seen in 5 patients. Complications occurred in 4: two patients with decreased joint mobility, one patient with sensory motor deficit and one patient requiring amputation. The median Kidscreen 10 score was 49.
Conclusion: Adequate and well timed treatment of CS allows complete functional recovery in most patients and a good quality of life, although a high complication rate is expected.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Rui Viegas, Marcos Carvalho, João Cabral, Pedro Sá Cardoso, Oliana Tarquini, Inês Balacó, Tah Pu Ling, Cristina Alves (Author)
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