Catamenial hemoptysis and pulmonary endometriosis: a case report

Hemoptysis can be caused by a variety of pulmonary diseases, including parasitic infections, tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis and malignancies. Rarely, pulmonary endometriosis can present with hemoptysis and pose a diagnostic problem to clinicians. Pulmonary endometriosis can easily be confused with other clinical entities, including pulmonary embolism, pneumonia and pneumothorax. Histopathologic confirmation is difficult, since the bleeding site is not easy to locate. However, a presumptive diagnosis of pulmonary endometriosis can be made with a typical clinical history. Even so, medical therapy may be problematic, with recurrence of symptoms despite hormonal ablation. We report a case of presumptive pulmonary endometriosis in a 32- year-old woman with a history of an induced abortion, who presented with catamenial hemoptysis (approximately one tablespoon per episode) occurring in the first 3 days of menstruation over an 11-month period. She was treated with an oral contraceptive for two months. No recurrence of hemoptysis was noted during 18 months of follow-up. The approach to diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary endometriosis is reviewed.