Postoperative extremity compartment syndrome in a cancer center: Incidence and risk factors

Postoperative compartment syndrome is a reported complication with known patient- and treatment-specific risk factors. Cancer patients carry unique risk factors associated with their underlying disease and long, complex procedures. While elevated serum lactate in traumatic and intensive care settings portends higher risk, no laboratory parameter has demonstrated utility in postoperative risk stratification. Postoperative extremity compartment syndrome in the study institution's cancer population was examined and whether intraoperative serum lactate correlates with postoperative compartment syndrome risk was investigated.

A 1:2 case-control study was performed, which compared cancer patients with postoperative compartment syndrome to those who underwent similar surgical procedures without this complication. Twelve patients were matched to 24 controls by sex, age, surgical procedures, and duration of surgery. Patient and operative variables were analyzed for prognostic significance.

The compartment syndrome rate was 0.09% of all cases (n = 13,491); 0.12% of cases ≥ 3 h' duration (n = 9,979), and 0.25% of cases ≥ 5 h (n = 4,811). Compared with controls, the case group had higher median BMI (31.7 kg/m2 vs. 25.4 kg/m2, P = 0.001), and median intraoperative lactate level (4.05 mmol/L vs. 1.5 mmol/L, P = 0.047).

Our institutional incidence of postoperative compartment syndrome was similar to that of non-oncologic institutions. While many traditional risk factors did not prove to be influential in our patients, elevated median body mass index and intraoperative serum lactate were identified as risk factors for postoperative compartment syndrome in a cancer population.