[Short-term prognosis in cryptogenetic hemoptysis]

149 patients suffering from hemoptysis of unknown origin who presented a normal chest X-ray were followed up, in order to evaluate their prognosis, during a mean period of 12.6 months after the initial study which included fiberoptic bronchoscopy. During this time, 24 patients (16.1%) presented new episodes of hemoptysis without radiological modifications; a second fiberoptic bronchoscopy carried out in 13 of these patients did not contribute with any new diagnostic data. One patient was diagnosed of pulmonary thromboembolism after persistent hemoptysis and two others of bronchial carcinoma 4 and 30 months after the initial fiberoptic bronchoscopy when the chest X-ray had already suffered significant changes. These data confirm that short term prognosis of cryptogenetic hemoptysis is generally favourable when the fiberoptic bronchoscopy is negative. The fact that a high percentage of these patients (37%, 55/149) had previously suffered pulmonary tuberculosis and/or inflammatory-scar type localized endobronchiolar lesions suggests that sequelae of these diseases, not observed in the X-ray, could play an etiological role in the bleeding.