Zayour Mohamad, Karaki Mahmoud, Al Ashkar Rana, Chammas Elie
Cardiology, University of Balamand, Beirut, LBN.
Diabetes and Endocrinology, University of Balamand, Beirut, LBN.
Cureus. 2022 May 20;14(5):e25154. doi: 10.7759/cureus.25154. eCollection 2022 May.
Epipericardial or epicardial fat necrosis (EFN) is a self-limited inflammatory process occurring in the mediastinal fat surrounding the heart. It is an uncommon cause of acute chest pain and mimics more critical clinical disorders such as acute coronary syndrome, aortic dissection, and pulmonary embolism. However, EFN is frequently overlooked and under-recognized in emergency departments (EDs) owing to the unfamiliarity of this condition among physicians and radiologists. Herein, we present the case of a previously healthy young male patient, with a recent history of mild COVID-19 infection (two weeks before presentation), who presented to the ED for acute chest pain. Paraclinical evaluation including computed tomography (CT) of the chest revealed fat stranding along with the left epicardial fat pad in favor of EFN.
心包外或心外膜脂肪坏死（EFN）是一种发生在心脏周围纵隔脂肪中的自限性炎症过程。它是急性胸痛的罕见原因，可模拟更严重的临床疾病，如急性冠状动脉综合征、主动脉夹层和肺栓塞。然而，由于急诊科医生和放射科医生对这种疾病不熟悉，EFN在急诊科经常被忽视和认识不足。在此，我们报告一例既往健康的年轻男性患者，近期有轻度新冠病毒感染史（就诊前两周），因急性胸痛就诊于急诊科。包括胸部计算机断层扫描（CT）在内的辅助检查显示左心外膜脂肪垫处有脂肪条索，支持EFN的诊断。
