Pericardial cyst: An incidental finding.

Abstract

Pericardial cysts are rare mediastinal cysts occurring with an incidence of 1 in 100,000. Characteristically, they occur along the right border of the heart. Their size varies from 1.0 cm to 15 cm, and they are often asymptomatic. Patients with symptoms usually have atypical chest pain. In the case reported here, a 37-year-old man complained of nonproductive cough. Chest x-ray film revealed a pericardial cyst that appeared as a large echolucent unilocular mass along the left border of the heart. Diagnosis was confirmed with the use of both computed tomography and transthoracic echocardiography.