Knowledge regarding Post-traumatic Compartment Syndrome among Nurses Working in a Tertiary Hospital, Kathmandu

Abstract

Background: Post-traumatic compartment syndrome (PTCS) of the limb is a collection of symptoms that occur when the pressure inside a muscle compartment of the limb rises. Failing to recognize PTCS in a timely manner can be life-threatening and almost always leads to negative outcomes for the patient. Nurses' understanding is essential in the management and prevention of PTCS through early recognition of clinical signs.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate post-traumatic compartment syndrome among nurses at a tertiary hospital in Kathmandu. The study utilized a non-probability purposive sampling technique for data collection. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 124 respondents, which were then analyzed using SPSS (version 16) and interpreted using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: The study found that 74.2% of respondents correctly identified the meaning of post-traumatic compartment syndrome. Causes of compartment syndrome included a tight splint (95.9%), a tightly applied plaster cast (94.3%), prolonged compression due to skin traction (91.1%), and compression bandage (87.9%). Common complications included pain as the first symptom (79.03%) and permanent nerve damage (83.9%). Respondents indicated that splitting the cast in half (83.1%) and loosening the skin traction and splint (81.5%) were common management techniques for PTCS. Hourly neurovascular assessment (87.1%) was identified as the nursing action to manage PTCS. Only 37.9% of respondents demonstrated a high level of knowledge.

Conclusions: The majority of respondents demonstrated adequate knowledge of the management and prevention of compartment syndrome. However, only one-third of respondents showed a high level of understanding of post-traumatic compartment syndrome.