Monitoring dynamic anterior compartment pressures during exercise. A new technique using the STIC catheter.

This report presents the early results of a new technique, using a solid-state transducer intracompartmental (STIC) catheter, developed to measure dynamic pressure changes in the anterior compartment of the leg in patients with exercise-induced anterior compartment syndrome. Nine male volunteers (15 limbs) with a history of exercise-induced anterior compartment pain were studied and compared to eleven asymptomatic male controls matched for age, weight and height. After catheter insertion, anterior compartment pressures were recorded with the subjects walking and running on a treadmill and performing several static maneuvers before and after the exercise period. The most statistically significant value between the two groups was the difference in mean pressure during running (P less than 0.001). Presently, all mean running pressures greater than 85 mm Hg are considered abnormal. This new technique offers the investigator the opportunity to measure dynamic intracompartmental pressures in symptomatic patients and provides an objective measurement for selection of patients for fasciotomy.