Which statement about early signs of compartment syndrome is true?

Which statement about early signs of compartment syndrome is true?

• A. Absent distal pulses are not reliable early signs
• B. Pain on passive stretch is the earliest sign
• C. Palpable tenseness is never present
• D. Asymmetry is not observed

Answer: (A)

Early signs of compartment syndrome come from nerve and muscle ischemia due to rising intracompartmental pressure, not from loss of arterial inflow. Pulses can stay present even when pressure is high, so the absence of distal pulses is a late finding and not a reliable early indicator. That makes the statement about pulses not being reliable early signs true. In contrast, pain out of proportion and pain with passive stretch are established early clues, and swelling or tenseness can be felt but aren’t guaranteed to be present in every case; asymmetry is often seen with swelling, so that option isn’t accurate.

Early signs of compartment syndrome come from nerve and muscle ischemia due to rising intracompartmental pressure, not from loss of arterial inflow. Pulses can stay present even when pressure is high, so the absence of distal pulses is a late finding and not a reliable early indicator. That makes the statement about pulses not being reliable early signs true. In contrast, pain out of proportion and pain with passive stretch are established early clues, and swelling or tenseness can be felt but aren’t guaranteed to be present in every case; asymmetry is often seen with swelling, so that option isn’t accurate.