Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Comparison of Compartment Syndrome Rates between Fiberglass and Plaster of Paris

Background: Pneumoni is A significant concern in orthopedic practice which involves an increased pressure within a confined space of an anatomical structure which holds the possibility of impaired blood flow, nerve injure and tissue death. Fiberglass and plaster of Paris (POP) are two favourite orthopedic casting materials with properties that could potentially affect compartment syndrome rate. Methods: The databases used were PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar in which a range of search was conducted. Literature analyzed were randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, case control studies and observational studies in fibre glass and POP casts and their effect on compartment syndrome rate. The procedure of extraction of data involved the application of inclusion and exclusion factors, and for analysis, the study applied a random effects model pooled analysis. Finally, the subgroup and sensitivity analyses evaluated the overall stability of the results. Results: Study Inclusion: From this search, nine papers were identified involving 978 participants. Incidence Rates: The observed overall incidence of compartment syndrome was 8.9% (95 % CI: 6.84-11.42%) for fiberglass casts and 7.3 % (95 % CI 5.39-10.21%) for POP casts. Statistical Analysis: Again, there was no significant variation in the incidence rate as seen form the given P value of 0.742. Additional analyses of the study subgroup and sensitivity also supported the above findings. Begg’s test and funnel plots also did not indicate that any publication bias ( P = 0.289). Conclusions: The systemic review demonstrates no statistical difference in the rates of compartment syndrome between fiberglass and POP casts. A treatment option should focus on these practical concerns as concerns weight, cost, and other useful considerations during the casting process while having a minuscule effect on the chances of getting compartment syndrome. Nonetheless, due to study heterogeneity and possible biases, these results should be best viewed with a pinch of salt.