[Alveolar hemorrhage]

Alveolar hemorrhage occurs relatively rarely and is a therapeutic emergency because it can quickly lead to acute respiratory failure, which can be fatal. Hemoptysis associated with anemia and pulmonary infiltrates suggest the diagnosis of alveolar hemorrhage, but may be absent in one third of cases including patients in respiratory distress. The diagnosis of alveolar hemorrhage is based on the findings of a bronchoalveolar lavage. The causes are numerous. It is important to identify alveolar hemorrhage due to sepsis, then separate an autoimmune cause (vasculitis associated with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody, connective tissue disease and Goodpasture's syndrome) with the search for autoantibodies and biopsies from readily accessible organs, from a non-immune cause, performing echocardiography. Lung biopsy should be necessary only in exceptional cases. If the hemorrhage has an immune cause, treatment with steroids and cyclophosphamide may be started. The indications for treatment with rituximab are beginning to be established (forms that are not severe and refractory forms). The benefit of plasma exchange is unquestionable in Goodpasture's syndrome. In patients with an immune disease that can lead to an alveolar hemorrhage, removing any source of infection is the first priority.