Pericardial fat tag sign (pneumothorax)

Last revised by Craig Hacking ◉ ◈ on 4 Oct 2019

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Hacking C, Knipe H, Shah V, Pericardial fat tag sign (pneumothorax). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 27 Sep 2023) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-66318

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-66318

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/66318

rID:

66318

Article created:

14 Feb 2019, Craig Hacking ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Craig Hacking had no recorded disclosures.

View Craig Hacking's current disclosures

Last revised:

4 Oct 2019, Craig Hacking ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Craig Hacking had no recorded disclosures.

View Craig Hacking's current disclosures

Revisions:

3 times, by 3 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Chest, Trauma

Sections:

Signs

The pericardial fat tag sign is a sign of pneumothorax on supine CXR where the cardiac border has a lumpy contour.

When gas is located in the pleural space between the lung and mediastinum, the pericardial fat is no longer compressed against the mediastinum and therefore can hang or dangle laterally, giving a lumpy or mogul appearance to the cardiac border/s.

It is not commonly seen and may be seen in the absence or presence of all the other chest x-ray signs of a supine pneumothorax.