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Upper Limb Compartment Syndrome—An Extremely Rare Life-Threatening Complication of Cutaneous Anthrax

Authors :
Mihaela Pertea
Stefana Luca
Dan Cristian Moraru
Bogdan Veliceasa
Alexandru Filip
Oxana Madalina Grosu
Vladimir Poroch
Andrian Panuta
Catalina Mihaela Luca
Andrei Nicolae Avadanei
Sorinel Lunca
Source :
Microorganisms, Vol 12, Iss 6, p 1240 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

(1) Background: Cutaneous anthrax is a disease caused by a Gram-positive bacillus, spore-forming Bacillus anthracis (BA). Cutaneous anthrax accounts for 95% of all anthrax cases, with mortality between 10–40% in untreated forms. The most feared complication, which can be life-threatening and is rarely encountered and described in the literature, is compartment syndrome. (2) Methods: We report a series of six cases of cutaneous anthrax from the same endemic area. In two of the cases, the disease was complicated by compartment syndrome. The systematic review was conducted according to systematic review guidelines, and the PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases were searched for publications from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2023. The keywords used were: “cutaneous anthrax” and “compartment syndrome by cutaneous anthrax”. (3) Results: For compartment syndrome, emergency surgical intervention for decompression was required, along with another three surgeries, with hospitalization between 21 and 23 days. In the systematic review, among the 37 articles, 29 did not contain cases focusing on compartment syndrome of the thoracic limb in cutaneous anthrax. The results were included in a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) flow diagram. (4) Conclusions: Early recognition of the characteristic cutaneous lesions and compartment syndrome with early initiation of antibiotics and urgent surgical treatment is the lifesaving solution.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20762607
Volume :
12
Issue :
6
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Microorganisms
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.0a087c05ce314f08937ed8ebe66f21f6
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12061240