1 Departments of Pediatrics and Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, and Harbor General Hospital, Torrance, California
The incidence of complications in children following retrograde arterial catheterization varies from nearly zero to over 7%.1,2 The commonest complication is arterial thrombosis. In addition, arterial dissections, tears and perforations, false aneurysms, peripheral arteriovenous fistulas, and hemorrhage have also been reported.3 In this communication a hitherto unreported complication of retrograde left heart catheterization, the anterior tibial compartment syndrome, is described in a 5-year-old boy. This syndrome consists of severe tenderness and swelling of the anterolateral portion of the lower leg due to circulatory compromise of the extensor muscles of the foot, which may lead to foot drop.
CASE REPORT
A 5-year-old Mexican-American boy was noted to have a heart murmur in the first week of life.