Article Sections

Introduction

Hemoptysis (bloody cough) results from bleeding at any point along the airway, from the nasopharynx (eg, aspirated epistaxis) to the lower bronchi (eg, lung cancer) to the alveoli (eg, vasculitis).  It can originate from either the pulmonary (low pressure) or bronchial (high pressure) circulations, and range from minor (eg, scanty blood-streaked sputum) to life-threatening (eg, brisk bleeding with asphyxia) bleeding.

Etiologies

The causes of hemoptysis can be classified by the main processes and structures involved ( Table 1).  The main etiologies tend to be associated with distinctive qualities of hemoptysis (eg, timeline, bloodiness).

Pulmonary infections

Viral bronchitis is the most common cause of hemoptysis.  The bleeding is related to bronchial mucosal irritation and sloughing and is usually minor (eg, blood-tinged sputum) and self-limited.  In contrast, deeper chest infections (eg, necrotizing bacterial pneumonia, tuberculosis, invasive fungal disease [eg, aspergillosis]) can cause more severe hemoptysis (eg, frank blood) due to local tissue destruction and erosion into adjacent bronchial blood vessels

Continue Learning with UWorld

Get the full Hemoptysis article plus rich visuals, real-world cases, and in-depth insights from medical experts, all available through the UWorld Medical Library.

Tables

Table 1