Functional Assessment and Potential Therapeutic Role of Carbon Monoxide Releasing Molecule-­‐3 in a Rodent Model of Compartment Syndrome

Compartment syndrome (CS) is a life and limb threatening condition resulting in long term morbidity. Gold standard treatment of CS is surgical fasciotomy. Long-term morbidity is common post fasciotomy. We tested a gait analysis system (CatWalk™) to see if we could detect functional effects of CS in our rodent model. We also investigated the effects of carbon monoxide releasing molecule-3 (CORM-3) on the function of gait in rodents post CS. The CatWalkTM system was able to detect abnormalities in a rodent’s gait post CS. CORM-3 was also found to alleviate the functional deficits following CS. Multiple dose but not single dose CORM-3 has a potential to become a therapeutic agent to be used as an adjunct to surgical fasciotomy for CS to help decrease the long-term morbidity associated with the disease