Compartment syndrome

Etiology / Pathophysiology

• Swelling or bleeding within closed muscle compartment after fracture, crush, burn, or tight cast/dressing.
• Pressure reduces perfusion causing ischemia and nerve/muscle death.

Medications

No specific medication class was seeded for this card.

Nursing actions

• Report severe pain, pain with passive stretch, paresthesia, pallor, pulselessness late.
• Loosen constrictive dressing/cast per protocol and keep limb at heart level.
• Prepare fasciotomy pathway if ordered.

Complications

• Permanent nerve damage
• Limb loss
• Rhabdomyolysis
• AKI

NCLEX cues

• Pain out of proportion is early.
• Pulselessness is late.

Memory hooks

• Tight compartment chokes circulation.

Labs / Diagnostics

• Trend assessment findings and ordered diagnostics; verify exact values with school source material.

Review notes

• Session-derived study seed. Verify against school materials, ATI/NCLEX review sources, current orders, and facility policy before relying on details.