HAEMOPTYSIS-MASSIVE HAEMOPTYSIS

SUMMARY

1. Defined as > 200mls of blood coughed up over 24 hours or at a rate of bleeding that is sufficient to compromise the airway.

2. Most commonly caused by bleeding from the bronchial arterial circulation.

3. Protect the airway by intubation of the unaffected lung and use either balloon insufflation to tamponade the haemorrhage or endovascular embolisation.

Reference(s)

Wilkinson, I., Furmedge, D. and Sinharay, R. (2017). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Get it on Amazon.
Feather, A., Randall, D. and Waterhouse, M. (2020). Kumar And Clark’s Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. S.L.: Elsevier Health Sciences. Get it on Amazon.
Hannaman, R. A., Bullock, L., Hatchell, C. A., & Yoffe, M. (2016). Internal medicine review core curriculum, 2017-2018. CO Springs, CO: MedStudy.
Therapeutic Guidelines. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. https://www.tg.org.au [Accessed 2021].