SPONTANEOUS NONTRAUMATIC ANTERIOR COMPARTMENT SYNDROME WITH PERONEAL NEUROPATHY AND FAVORABLE OUTCOME

We report a girl who spontaneously developed an anterior compartment s yndrome with an associated deep peroneal neuropathy. Initial nerve con duction studies (NCS) recorded from the extensor digitorum brevis musc le demonstrated prolongation of the distal latency to 7.8 msec (normal contralateral side, 3.6 msec), and reduction in amplitude of the comp ound muscle action potential to 0.1 mV (normal contralateral side, 9.9 mV). Electromyography of the tibialis anterior muscle showed an absen ce of motor unit potentials. Serum creatine kinase was markedly elevat ed to 12,769 IU. Computed tomography (CT) showed evidence of necrotic muscle. One month later, the foot drop, repeat NCS, and CT demonstrate d a significant improvement with conservative management.