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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Radiol Imaging 2018; 28(01): 107-110
DOI: 10.4103/ijri.IJRI_67_17
Paediatric Imaging

Brown fat necrosis with calcifications in the newborn: Risk factors, radiographic findings, and clinical course

Eleza T Golden
Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University, 1405 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30322
,
Paula Dickson
Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University, 1405 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30322
,
Stephen Simoneaux
Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University, 1405 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30322
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Subject Editor: Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Objective: To describe the radiographic appearance of subclinical calcified brown fat necrosis and the associated clinical and laboratory findings. Materials and Methods: Picture Archiving and Communications Sytem (PACS) was searched using keywords “soft tissue calcification” and “chest.” The clinical record was searched for prior cardiac surgery, bypass, Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygentation (ECMO) and prostaglandin use. Age when calcifications were first detected, location, resolution, and associated laboratory abnormalities were recorded. Results: Nine patients were identified. None had skin lesions. All patients had congenital heart disease and had experienced cardiac/respiratory arrest and/or severe hypotension 1–6 weeks before soft tissue calcifications occurred. Calcifications resolved by 9 weeks to 5 months in 3 patients. The remaining were either deceased or lacked follow-up imaging. Renal ultrasound was performed in all but 1 patient. Nephrocalcinosis was only seen in 1 patient. Conclusion: Brown fat necrosis is subclinical, diagnosed on plain film, and likely self-limited. It occurs in term and preterm infants who have undergone significant systemic stress and carries a poor prognosis.

Keywords

Neonate - neonatal imaging - subcutaneous fat necrosis


Publication History

Article published online:
26 July 2021

© 2018. Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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