A 55-year-old woman is noted to have a traumatic injury to her right thigh. Which of the following is most sensitive for the diagnosis of compament syndrome

Pain, typically severe and even out of propoion to the injury, represents the first and most sensitive symptom of compament syndrome. Pain, however, is extremely nonspecific. Pulselessness represents a very late finding, and therefore the finding of a palpable pulse should not exclude compament syndrome in the differential diagnosis.