Raised compartment pressures are frequently observed with tibial shaft fractures despite the absence of compartment syndrome: A prospective cohort study.

Purpose: To measure the intracompartmental pressures surrounding tibial fractures not exhibiting any clinical evidence of compartment syndrome. Our hypothesis was that pressures often exceed the recommended threshold of fasciotomy despite the absence of compartment syndrome, and hence diagnosis based on pressure measurements alone is unreliable.

Methods: Thirteen consecutive patients with closed tibial shaft fractures without clinical suspicion of compartment syndrome, and who were planned for intramedullary nailing, were prospectively enrolled.