title: The role of fiberoptic bronchoscopy in patients with hemoptysis and a normal chest roentgenogram.
abstract: We reviewed the charts of 478 patients who had fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) performed for evaluating hemoptysis with a normal chest roentgenogram. FOB provided a definite diagnosis of endobronchial lesion in only 10 patients (2.1%): bronchogenic carcinoma in 2 patients, bronchial adenoma in 1 patient, tracheal cancer in 1 patient, foreign body in 3 patients and endobronchial tuberculosis in 3 patients. FOB neither visualized tumor mass nor localized the bleeding site in 300 (95.8%) of 313 patients with mild hemoptysis. However, the bleeding site could be localized by FOB in 56% of the patients (n = 165) if the bleeding amount exceeded 60 ml/day. In conclusion, in patients with hemoptysis and normal chest roentgenograms, routine FOB may not rule out airway malignancy. In contrast, it is a good diagnostic tool for localizing the bleeding site if patients present with moderate amount of hemoptysis.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Shieh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001982:Bronchial Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D001984:Bronchial Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D002283:Carcinoma, Bronchogenic / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006469:Hemoptysis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic