Clinical profile of patients hospitalized with hemoptysis

INTRODUCTION: Hemoptysis presents as a primary complaint in 8–15% of chest clinic patients. The etiology of hemoptysis varies among different series according to the time of publication, geographic location, and diagnostic tests employed. AIM: To study the clinical profile of patients hospitalized with hemoptysis at a tertiary respiratory care center in New Delhi, India. METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional, observational, hospital-based study. Patients admitted with hemoptysis in emergency from November 2017 to April 2018 were enrolled. A total of 129 patients were evaluated by a detailed clinical history and necessary investigations deemed required for arriving at the diagnosis. Subjects’ hospitalized details were recorded using structured evaluation proforma. Data were evaluated using SPSS version 22.0. The ‘p’ value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 129 patients were recruited, with a mean age of 42.67 years, 59.7% were male. Mild, moderate, severe, and massive hemoptysis were seen in 15.5%, 46.5%, 25.6% and 12.4% cases, respectively. History of pulmonary tuberculosis treatment was present in 40.3%, recurrent hemoptysis in 38% and bilateral chest x-ray involvement in 62.6% cases. Tuberculosis (active and sequelae) was the most common cause (51.9%) of hemoptysis. Recurrent hemoptysis and low hemoglobin were found to be independent risk factors associated with the severity of hemoptysis. CONCLUSION: Tuberculosis remains a significant cause of hemoptysis in our country. Even one episode of hemoptysis should not be ignored and investigated properly as it can potentially cause massive hemoptysis and life-threatening complications in the future.