Presentation
Fever, cough, breathing difficulty. Oxygen saturation level 95% on room air.
Patient Data
Widening of fat layer within pericardial sac, particularly over anterior surface of left ventricle.
Enlarged lymph nodes at bilateral paratracheal as well as para-aortic and subaortic stations.
Scattered areas of airspace densification and thin linear densities over different parts of both lungs.
Case Discussion
Overgrowth of the fat layer within the confines of the pericardial outline differentiates epicardial lipomatosis from pericardial lipoma, in which case the fat overgrowth is between the pericardium and the adjacent pleura. Similar to all other hyperplasia involving adipocytes, epicardial lipomatosis also may be related to obesity, steroid intake, etc. Usually of no clinical concern, excessive overgrowth has the potential to rarely produce pericardial tamponade.