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Review
. 2021 Jun 14;22(1):545.
doi: 10.1186/s12891-021-04318-1.

Brachial muscle injury resulting in acute compartment syndrome of the upper arm: a case report and literature review

Lei Tan #  1 , Yongning Xia #  1 , Zilong Su  1 , Qiangqiang Wen  1 , Jiting Zhang  2 , Tiecheng Yu  3
Affiliations
Review

Brachial muscle injury resulting in acute compartment syndrome of the upper arm: a case report and literature review

Lei Tan et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Acute compartment syndrome (ACS) is a potentially devastating condition. ACS is rare in the upper arm.

Case presentation: We report a case of acute compartment syndrome of the anterior compartment of the upper arm due to brachial muscle injury. The patient experienced abnormal progressive swelling and pain in his right upper arm, and passive pulling pain of the right wrist and right hand. It was highly suspected to be right upper arm compartment syndrome, and was confirmed by surgery. The patient transferred to the emergency operating room for fasciotomy that was performed under general anesthesia using the anterolateral approach. The brachial muscle was found to be heavily swollen and had the greatest tension. The brachial muscle fibers were split lengthwise, and a large amount of hematoma was cleared. The brachial muscles were injured and partly ruptured. After full decompression, a negative pressure drainage device was used to cover the wound in the first stage. Ten days after injury, the swelling of the affected limb subsided and the wound was sutured. The patient's limbs completely recovered to normal. The shoulder and elbow joints could move freely and the patient resumed normal farming work ability.

Conclusion: Clinicians should fully recognize the fact that acute compartment syndrome can occur in the upper arm, rather than only the forearm and leg, and therefore avoid serious consequences caused by missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis.

Keywords: Acute compartment syndrome; Brachial muscle; Fasciotomy; Upper arm.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a Preoperative photograph showing right upper arm anterior swelling and subcutaneous ecchymosis in the elbow fossa; b Intraoperative photograph showing injury of the rachial muscle after fasciotomy of the anterior compartment of the upper arm and the hematoma that was cleared; c Picture of the treatment of the negative pressure drainage device after surgery
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Postoperative photograph showing that the patient’s activity and function were good during the patient follow-up 40 days after surgery
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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