Table 1.
Summary of Literature Review∗
| Case | Author | Year | Location | Key Diagnostic Findings | Time of Diagnosis | Intervention and Time | Suspected Etiology | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tsur et al17 | 1980 | L upper extremity | Sentinel skin lesions, paralysis, progressed to dry gangrene | Age 7 d | Fasciotomy and escharotomy, within 24 hours of diagnosis | Prolonged intrauterine pressure from an amniotic band | Volkmann contracture |
| 2 | Christiansen et al18 | 1983 | R forearm, bilateral lower extremities | Sentinel skin lesions | Several days after birth | Fasciotomies, >24 hours after birth | Sepsis | Unknown |
| 3 | Caouette-Laberge et al19 (5 cases) | 1992 | L (2) and R (3) upper extremities | Sentinel skin lesions (5), paralysis (2) | Unknown (5) | Surgical debridement (1), splinting (4) | Umbilical cord compression (1), oligohydramnios (1), u/k (3) | Scar contracture (1), Volkmann contracture (5), bone growth abnormality (5), nerve palsy (3) |
| 4 | Kline and Moore20 (2 cases) | 1992 | L hand and forearm (2) | Sentinel skin lesions (2) | 2 h (1) and several hours (1) after birth | Fasciotomy at 3 hours of birth (1), conservative management (1) | Compression trauma (1), u/k (1) | Volkmann contracture (1), none (1) |
| 5 | Armstrong and Page21 (6 cases) | 1997 | L (5) and R (1) upper extremity | Sentinel skin lesions (6) | Day of birth (1), time of delivery (5) | Fasciotomy (1), splinting (5) | Compressive thrombosis | Scar and Volkmann contracture (6), bone growth abnormality (2), amputation (1) |
| 6 | Tsujino et al22 | 1997 | R forearm | Sentinel skin lesions, paralysis | Unknown | Conservative management | Intrauterine compression | Bone growth abnormality |
| 7 | Léauté-Labrèze23 et al | 1998 | L forearm and hand | Sentinel skin lesions | Unknown | Conservative management | Compression from dead fetus (co-twin) | Volkmann contracture, nerve palsy |
| 8 | Silfen et al24 | 2000 | R upper extremity | Sentinel skin lesions that progressed to necrosis | 1 d after birth | Escharotomy, debridement, and then fasciotomy on day 2 of life | Oligohydramnios | Volkmann contracture, bone growth abnormality |
| 9 | Ragland et al (24 cases)1 | 2005 | L (11) and R (13) upper extremity | Sentinel skin lesions (24) | Within 3 h after birth (1), unknown (23) | Only 1 patient was treated at 3 hours of age. The other 23 were seen between 1 month - 13 years of age. | A few cases were complicated by preterm birth, fetal distress during delivery, and coagulation abnormality. | Volkmann contracture (15), bone growth abnormality (18), nerve palsy (16), amputation (3) |
| 10 | Dahlin et al (2 cases)25 | 2009 | Unknown | Sentinel skin lesions and paralysis (2) | Unknown (2) | Conservative management (2) | u/k (2) | Bone growth abnormality (1), nerve palsy (1) |
| 11 | Dandurand et al26 | 2009 | L forearm and arm | Sentinel skin lesions that progressed to skin necrosis | Age 2 d | Fasciotomy on age 3 d | Shoulder dystocia | Unknown |
| 12 | Allen et al27 | 2010 | R arm | Sentinel skin lesions with digital tip necrosis | Age 1 wk | Fasciotomy and debridement of muscle and skin | Abnormal arm position in utero | Unknown |
| 13 | Nanda et al28 | 2010 | R forearm and hand | Sentinel skin lesions | At birth | Fasciotomy within 12 h of life | Umbilical cord compression | Autoamputation of thumb, bone growth abnormality |
| 14 | Rios et al2 | 2011 | L forearm | Sentinel skin lesions that progressed to skin and muscle necrosis, paralysis | Age 4 d | Surgical debridement at age 14 d | Instrument delivery | Volkmann contracture |
| 15 | Isik et al5 | 2012 | R hand and forearm | Sentinel skin lesions | At birth | Fasciotomy, unclear timing | Compound presentation | Weakness |
| 16 | Plancq et al29 | 2013 | L forearm | Sentinel skin lesions with necrosis | Within first hours of life | Fasciotomy, unclear timing | Amniotic band at birth, preterm twin, respiratory distress | Nerve palsy |
| 17 | Van der Kaay et al30 | 2013 | R lower limb | Sentinel skin lesions | Unknown | Decompressing incisions | Severe birth trauma | Equinus of foot |
| 18 | Agrawal et al3 | 2014 | R hand | Sentinel skin lesions | Age 5 d | Fasciotomy at age 112 h | Compressive thrombosis | Nerve palsy, bone growth abnormality |
| 19 | Pavlidis et al31 | 2014 | L forearm and elbow fold | Sentinel skin lesions, paralysis | At birth | Unknown | Prothrombotic disorder | Unknown |
| 20 | Bekmez et al32 | 2015 | L forearm and hand | Sentinel skin lesions, paralysis | After 24 h of life | Fasciotomy, unclear timing | Reperfusion injury after treating spontaneous axillary artery thrombosis resulting from coagulopathy | Scar contracture |
| 21 | Martinovski et al33 | 2015 | L forearm and hand | Sentinel skin lesions | Within 9 h after birth | Fasciotomy, unclear timing | Compound presentation | Unknown |
| 22 | Mehta and Agarwal34 | 2015 | R forearm and hand | Sentinel skin lesions | Time of birth | Fasciotomy at 6 h of life | Arterial thrombosis | Bone growth abnormality, autoamputation |
| 23 | Badawy et al14 | 2016 | R upper extremity | Sentinel skin lesions, equivocal compartment pressures | Days after birth | Fasciotomy on d 7 of life | Disseminated intravascular coagulation | Scar contracture, Volkmann contracture |
| 24 | Martin and Treharne4 | 2016 | L forearm and hand | Sentinel skin lesions | Within hours of life | Fasciotomy at 6 h of life | Compressive thrombosis | Volkmann contracture |
| 25 | Tetreault et al35 | 2018 | L forearm and hand | Sentinel skin lesions | Within 24 h of life | Fasciotomy within 24 h of life | Unknown | Bone growth abnormality |
| 26 | Belli et al36 | 2019 | L lower limb | Sentinel skin lesions | Within hours of life | Fasciotomy at 5 h of life | Compound presentation | None |
∗
For reports with multiple cases, information is reported using (n), which refers to the number of cases. The most highly suspected etiology for each case is listed. Outcomes are largely classified as scar contracture, Volkmann contracture, bone growth abnormality, nerve palsy, and amputation.