ACUTE COMPARTMENT SYNDROME IN A HYPOTHYROID PATIENT

Acute compartment syndrome (ACS) is caused by conditions that either d ecrease the size of the compartment or increase the content of the com partment. Intracompartmental pressures are raised, thereby initiating a sequence of events that results in myoneural injury. Although limb t rauma is the most common and well-recognized etiology of ACS, the caus e is frequently not readily apparent, Thyroid disease is not a commonl y recognized cause of ACS; only one case of ACS associated with hypoth yroidism has been previously reported. We now describe a second case o f ACS in a patient with severe hypothyroidism and discuss the possible pathogenesis of this association.