Acute Medicine | Respiratory | Mechanisms behind haemoptysis in bronchiectasis

Mechanisms behind Haemoptysis in Bronchiectasis
Session Overview
Description
This session explains the mechanisms associated with haemoptysis in bronchiectasis.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Describe the mechanisms of haemoptysis in bronchiectasis
• Outline the management of haemoptysis and bronchiectasis

Haemoptysis is defined as:

‘Expectoration of blood or blood-tinged sputum from the lungs or tracheobronchial tree.’

It is therefore important that during history taking, one establishes that the blood-tinged sputum is indeed being coughed up, rather than being vomited (haematemesis) or trickling down from the nasopharynx.

True haemoptysis is always associated with coughing and comes from the lower respiratory tract.