Bloody Sputum, Bloody Mucus, Coughing Up Blood, Hemoptysis, Spitting Up Blood
Symptoms & Signs:
Hemoptysis is the coughing up of blood or bloody sputum from the lungs or airway. It may be either self-limiting or recurrent. Massive hemoptysis is defined as 200–600 mL of blood coughed up within a period of 24 hours or less.
Description
Hemoptysis can range from small quantities of bloody sputum to life-threatening amounts of blood. The patient may or may not have chest pain.
Causes & symptoms
Hemoptysis can be caused by a range of disorders:
Infections. These include pneumonia; tuberculosis; aspergillosis; and parasitic diseases, including ascariasis, amebiasis, and paragonimiasis.
Tumors that erode blood vessel walls.
Drug abuse. Cocaine can cause massive hemoptysis.
Trauma. Chest injuries can cause bleeding into the lungs.
Vascular disorders, including aneurysms, pulmonary embolism, and malformations of the blood vessels.
Bronchitis. Its most common cause is long-term smoking.
Foreign object(s) in the airway.
Blood clotting disorders.
Bleeding following such surgical procedures as bronchial biopsies and heart catheterization.
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