Hemoptysis: Epidemiological, Clinical and Etiological Aspects

Introduction: Hemoptysis is the expectoration of blood from the subglottic airways following a coughing effort. Objective: To determine the epidemiological, clinical and etiological aspects of hemoptysis. Material and Methods: This was a prospective descriptive study from April 2020 to April 2022, including patients hospitalized for hemoptysis or who presented with hemoptysis during hospitalization in the Pneumology Department. Results: 63 patients were included, mean age 44.6± 9.6y [21-77y], predominantly male (sex ratio: 2.3). Hospitalization rate was 9.9%. Comorbidities were dominated by diabetes (28.6%). Past history was dominated by active smoking (52.4%). Hemoptysis was of low (52.4%), medium (33.3%) and high (14.3%) abundance. The main etiologies were active pulmonary tuberculosis (28.6%) and lung cancer (20.6%). Conclusion: Hemoptysis is a frequent symptom of hospitalization and constitutes an emergency. In our study, young adults were predominantly male. Low-abundance hemoptysis was in the majority. Etiologies were dominated by infectious causes, including tuberculosis, as well as tumoral causes.