The slit catheter: a comparison with the wick catheter in the measurement of compartment pressure.

The slit catheter, a new instrument for the measurement of compartment pressure, has been compared with the wick catheter in experimental conditions. The two catheters were inserted into the anterior tibial compartments of 8 human legs and controlled external pressures were applied by means of an inflatable limb bag. The mean resting intramuscular pressure of 8.5 +/- 6.2 mmHg for the slit and 8.7 mmHg +/- 6.2 mmHg for the wick catheter agrees with that of other workers, and the slit catheter records a pressure at all applied external pressures not significantly different from the wick catheter (paired t test). The slit catheter provides a simple and inexpensive way of estimating compartment pressure which is as accurate as a method widely used both experimentally and clinically in North America.