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Background Compartment syndrome of the thigh (CST) is a rare condition, and its delayed diagnosis and therapy may lead to devastating adverse effects. Thus, the aim of this study was to present the amassed clinical experiences, regarding diagnosis and treatment of CST at a level I trauma centre. Materials and methods The database was reviewed for all patients with a manifest CST treated surgically between 1995 and 2014. Results 69 patients (61 males and 8 females) met the inclusion criteria, with a mean age of 42.9 years (range: 11–87 years). Forty-four patients (64%) presented with an isolated CST. There was a significant association between complication rates and high impact vs. blunt trauma (12/32, 38% vs. 0/20, 0%; p = 0.0022; Fisher’s exact test). The number of surgeries in patients with a concomitant femur fracture was significantly increased (in mean: 2.8 vs. 4.9 surgical interventions; p Conclusion Patients after high impact trauma showed the highest complication rate. Concomitant femur fractures were associated with an increased number of surgical interventions. The synopsis of trauma mechanism, clinical presentation, age, anticoagulation status and clinical experience of the trauma surgeon seem to be the best tools to correctly diagnose CST.

Patients who undergo hip hemiarthroplasty (HHA) due to traumatic femoral neck fracture frequently require red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. Although post-operative autologous blood transfusion (ABT) is well established in elective arthroplasty, its role in trauma patients remains unclear. Two hundred twenty-nine patients with a traumatic femoral neck fracture that underwent HHA at our level-I trauma centre between 2005 and 2009 were prospectively randomized to a high-vacuum drainage or an ABT device. In this single-institution analysis, the number of RBC units as well as the amount of retransfused shed blood were recorded and compared according to study groups. Additionally, the significance of confounding factors for allogenic blood demand such as age, gender, pre-operative Hb level, surgical approach, type of prosthesis and amount of intra-operative RBC units were evaluated using multivariate analysis. One hundred thirty-five patients were randomized in the high-vacuum group while 94 patients received an ABT device. Intention to treat analysis revealed no significant difference in post-operative RBC demand (ABT: 0.87 RBC, high-vacuum drainage: 1.01 RBC; P = 0.374). However, patients that actually received retransfusion (N = 35) had a reduced post-operative RBC demand (0.49 RBC units, P = 0.014). While only one third of trauma patients treated with an ABT device during HHA actually receive retransfusion, retransfused patients seem to significantly benefit from this treatment as reflected by a reduced pos-toperative RBC demand.