[Yield of bronchofibroscopy in patients with hemoptysis and normal thorax radiography]

The clinical histories of all the patients with hemoptysis who underwent bronchofibroscopy (FB) during a period of 5 years (1981-1986) are revised. 25.6% (108 out of 702) of the endoscopic explorations were performed in patients without radiographic pleuropulmonary abnormalities with a definite pathology. In these patients, an early FB results in one of the diagnostic methods with greatest sensibility to diagnose subglottic bleeding. Its efficacy decreases when it is performed more than 24 hours after the bleeding apparently ceased. As a whole, the side of the bleeding was determined in 50% of cases with the localization of the segment involved in 53 occasions (29.4%). In 8 (4.4%) patients, hemoptysis was secondary to bronchial neoplasia and in 6 of them FB contributed with the diagnostic material. In 5 cases hemoptysis lasted for more than seven days. Seven patients suffering bronchial carcinoma were males over 40 years old and smokers of more than 40 years/packet. There was a 77 year old female, with a carcinoid tumor who was a non smoker. In other 3 patients (2 suffering endobronchial angiomas and one case of tracheal bronchus ) the cause of bleeding could be determined with FB. We conclude that in patients presenting hemoptysis and normal chest x ray, FB is a useful procedure to localize the origin of bleeding and in a significant percentage of cases permits the etiological diagnosis.