Compartment syndrome after pressurized infusion.

Compartment syndrome is caused by any condition which increases interstitial pressure within a muscle compartment to the extent that blood flow is compromised. It is seen classically after trauma to an extremity with crush injury, vascular damage or subsequent tight bandaging. Its sequelae may include irreversible neural and muscular damage secondary to the ischaemic insult. Previously described iatrogenic causes of particular interest to anaesthetists include limb compression in the insensible patient [1], arterial cannula extravasation [2], hyperosmolar Bier block [3] and intra-arterial barbiturates [4]; these reports appear in orthopaedic surgery and neurology literature. Pressurized infusions through infiltrated i.v. catheters represent a potential source of compartment syndrome with resulting dysfunction [2, 5, 6].