Tissue pressure measurement (TPM) is a procedure for monitoring the pressure of interstitial tissue fluid in a closed fascial or epimyseal space to aid in the evaluation of acute and chronic muscle compartment syndrome. Several techniques can be used to determine this pressure. They include: 1) wick catheter method; 2) slit catheter method; 3) needle manometry method; 4) constant infusion catheter method; 5) solid state transducer intracompartment catheter (STIC) method; and 6) microcapillary infusion (MCI) method.

Tissue pressure measurement is considered medically necessary under the following conditions:

• the patient is unconscious;
• the patient has communication problems; or
• the clinical signs and symptoms are ambiguous.

A search of literature was completed through the MEDLINE database for the period of January 1993 through January 30, 1995. The search strategy focused on references containing the following Medical Subject Headings:

– Compartment Syndrome/Diagnosis
 
– Tissue

Research was limited to English-language journals on humans.

See also:

TEC Evaluations 1993: Tab 4

Compartment syndrome
Muscle compartment syndrome
Tissue Pressure Measurement (TPM)
TPM (Tissue Pressure Measurement)