Abstract
Background: Hemoptysis is an alarming symptom in clinical practice. We reviewed ten years of experience with hemoptysis in a tertiary hospital in Qatar to identify hemoptysis etiologies, patient characteristics, and associated factors. Methods: Hemoptysis was defined based on severity as mild ( < 50 ml or streaks of blood), moderate (50–150 ml) and massive (>150 ml) in the 24 hours before admission. Hemodynamically unstable is considered when systolic BP < 100 mmHg,tachycardia with HR>110/min, tachypnea with RR>22/min, or SpO2 < 92% on room air. Results: A total of 102 patients (41 females and 61 males) with 133 episodes of hemoptysis were identified in this study. Among the hemoptysis patients with co-morbidities, 19 patients had hypertension, 17 patients had cardiovascular disease, and 66 patients with other co-morbidities. COPD patients had a significant (p < 0.02) association with hemoptysis. Chest X-ray was used in most patients and other modalities like CT scan and bronchoscopies were used less frequently. Pneumonia (12.8%), bronchiectasis (11.8%) and cardiovascular disorders (11.8%) are the primary causes of hemoptysis. Malignancy was less frequent (7.8%), and bronchogenic carcinoma was uncommon (2%). There were 24 (23.5 %) no identified causes of hemoptysis. The overall mortality was 9.8% in this study. Conclusions: Population demographics played a significant role in the severity of hemoptysis and prognosis. Most patients had benign etiologies, lower severity of hemoptysis and good prognosis. Differences in the etiology, initial severity, and prognosis of patients with hemoptysis were found significantly different when compared with those reported in previous studies.
Highlights
Hemoptysis is a distressing symptom that generally prompts emergency visits
A more relevant clinical definition is based on the presence of a life-threatening condition similar to any hemoptysis that results in blood expectoration of . 100 mL within 24 hours and causes abnormal gas exchange/ airway obstruction or hemodynamic instability.[3]
A total of 19 patients were excluded from the study due to missing information, and 102 patients with 133 episodes of hemoptysis were analyzed
Summary
Hemoptysis is a distressing symptom that generally prompts emergency visits It is defined as the expectoration of fresh blood, and it can be a symptom of a life-threatening pulmonary condition.[1] The severity of hemoptysis has different definitions in the medical literature. The majority of published articles classify hemoptysis severity into mild, moderate, and severe or massive on the basis of the amount of blood expectorated per episode or over 24 hours.[2,3] A more relevant clinical definition is based on the presence of a life-threatening condition similar to any hemoptysis that results in blood expectoration of . Most patients had benign etiologies, lower severity of hemoptysis and good prognosis. Differences in the etiology, initial severity, and prognosis of patients with hemoptysis were found significantly
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