[Acute non-traumatic compartment syndrome in paediatrics. Case series and topic review].

Introduction: the most associated cause of compartment syndrome is fracture; however, it is not the only one. Direct trauma without bone involvement, indirect soft tissue injuries, or iatrogenic injuries can also evolve devastatingly. Often, diagnosis is delayed due to low clinical suspicion. In pediatric patients, correlating clinical findings to establish a diagnostic suspicion becomes even more challenging, as the patient does not directly communicate symptoms.

Material and methods: descriptive observational study of case series. Patients under 16 years of age who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of compartment syndrome following a snakebite were included. Patients with compartment syndrome related to trauma or fracture were excluded.

Results: three cases of compartment syndrome were presented: two males and one female. A multidisciplinary approach was evaluated, and the clinical evolution of the patients was documented.

Conclusion: this work aims to draw attention to this injury to encourage future research and the creation of protocols that allow for timely identification and appropriate management in this population, as well as its dissemination among all professionals involved in these procedures.