Compartment Syndrome Obscured by Post-Operative Epidural Analgesia

Abstract

Compartment syndrome is an orthopedic emergency that require early recognition and urgent intervention to avoid catastrophic complications. High index of suspicion is required for early diagnosis based on a constellation of signs and symptoms that include pain out of proportion and worsened by passive stretching, altered sensorium and palpable tenseness. Any event thus, that masks pain, may lead to delay the diagnosis of compartment syndrome. We report here a case of polytrauma where post-operative analgesia was administered using epidural catheter, which obscured pain and lead to delay in recognition of compartment syndrome. Authors wish to share a lesson, learned at the expense of tragedy.