N 1 (182) 2023. P. С. 24–27

COMPARTMENT SYNDROME IN BURNT INJURIES: REVIEW AND ANALYSIS

Municipal Institution of Higher Education “Rivne Medical Academy” of Rivne Region Council, Rivne, Ukraine

DOI 10.32782/2226-2008-2023-1-4

The use of high-energy firearms in today’s war leads to an increase in the share of polystructural damage. According to various authors, compartment syndrome occurs in 10-25% of patients with bone fractures of the lower extremities, and in gunshot wounds of certain localizations – in almost 40% [1].

Purpose. To conduct a retrospective analysis of of data of literature regarding risk factors for the occurrence of compartment syndrome, diagnosis and treatment tactics.

Materials and methods. an information search was conducted in the scientific literature, 52 sources were studied and analyzed, of which about 37 were in English. The obtained results were processed using the program “Microsoft Office Excel” and “Statistica 6”.Results and discussion. The triggering mechanisms for the development of compartment syndrome in gunshot wounds are a decrease in blood circulation in the sheath, a decrease in muscle tolerance to ischemia, and an increase in the contents of the fascial sheath as a result of muscle swelling.The classic symptoms of compartment syndrome can be deceptive. However, the diagnostic criteria of this pathology are 6 “Ps”: pain that does not correspond to the severity of the injury, paresthesia, poikilothermia, pallor, paralysis and absence of a pulse. Any of these criteria should lead to the determination of subfascial pressure, which is the main indicator of compartment syndrome.

The main method of treatment is fasciotomy, the result of which depends on the timeliness of execution.

Conclusions.

  1. Among the etiological factors of compartment syndrome, gunshot wounds prevail today
  2. The main diagnostic criterion of the compartment syndrome is an increase in subfascial pressure;
  3. A direct strong correlation (r=0.7912) was established between the early (up to 6-8 hours) time of fasciotomy and the course of the disease

Key words: compartment syndrome, gunshot wounds, subfascial pressure.

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