Hemoptysis
Frightening to the patient and commonly ominous, hemoptysis is the expectoration of blood or bloody sputum from the lungs or tracheobronchial tree. It's sometimes confused with bleeding from the mouth, throat, nasopharynx, or GI tract. (See Identifying hemoptysis.) Expectoration of 200 ml of blood in a single episode suggests severe bleeding, whereas expectoration of 400 ml in 3 hours or more than 600 ml in 16 hours signals a life-threatening crisis.
Hemoptysis usually results from chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, or bronchiectasis. However, it may also result from inflammatory, infectious, cardiovascular, or coagulation disorders and, rarely, from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. In up to 15% of patients, the cause is unknown. The most common causes of massive hemoptysis are lung cancer, bronchiectasis, active tuberculosis (TB), and cavitary pulmonary disease from necrotic infections or TB.
Several pathophysiologic processes can cause hemoptysis. (See What happens in hemoptysis.)
Action stat!
If the patient coughs up copious amounts of blood, endotracheal intubation may be required. Suction frequently to remove blood. Lavage may be necessary to loosen tenacious secretions or clots. Massive hemoptysis can cause airway obstruction and asphyxiation. Insert an I.V. catheter to allow fluid replacement, drug administration, and blood transfusions, if needed. An emergency bronchoscopy should be performed to identify the bleeding site. Monitor the patient's blood pressure and pulse to detect hypotension and tachycardia, and draw an arterial blood sample for laboratory analysis to monitor respiratory status.
History and physical examination
If hemoptysis is mild, ask the patient when it began. Has he ever coughed up blood before? About how much blood is he coughing up now and about how often? Ask about a history of cardiac, pulmonary, or bleeding disorders. If he's receiving anticoagulant therapy, find out the drug, its dosage and schedule, and the duration of therapy. Is he taking other prescription drugs? Does he smoke? Ask the patient if he has had a recent infection. Has he been exposed to TB? When was his last tine test and what were the results?
Take the patient's vital signs and examine his nose, mouth, and pharynx for sources of bleeding. Inspect the configuration of his chest and look for abnormal movement during breathing, the use of accessory muscles, and retractions. Observe his respiratory rate, depth, and rhythm. Finally, examine his skin for lesions.
Next, palpate the patient's chest for diaphragm level and for tenderness, respiratory excursion, fremitus, and abnormal pulsations; then percuss for flatness, dullness, resonance, hyperresonance, and tympany. Finally, auscultate the lungs, noting especially the quality and intensity of breath sounds. Also auscultate for heart murmurs, bruits, and pleural friction rubs.
Obtain a sputum specimen and examine it for overall quantity, for the amount of blood it contains, and for its color, odor, and consistency.
Medical causes
Blast lung injury.Although individuals with blast lung injury may not have obvious external chest injuries, they sometimes show other indications of internal damage, such as hemoptysis. Health care providers should evaluate survivors of explosive detonations for other classic signs and symptoms of a blast lung injury, such as chest pain, cyanosis, dyspnea, and wheezing. Treatment includes careful administration of fluids and oxygen to ensure tissue perfusion.
Bronchial adenoma.Bronchial adenoma is an insidious disorder that causes recurring hemoptysis in up to 30% of patients, along with a chronic cough and local wheezing.
Bronchiectasis.Inflamed bronchial surfaces and eroded bronchial blood vessels cause hemoptysis, which can vary from blood-tinged sputum to blood (in about 20% of cases). The patient's sputum may also be copious, foul-smelling, and purulent. He may exhibit a chronic cough, coarse crackles, clubbing (a late sign), a fever, weight loss, fatigue, weakness, malaise, and dyspnea on exertion.
Bronchitis (chronic).The first sign of chronic bronchitis is typically a productive cough that lasts at least 3 months. Eventually this leads to the production of blood-streaked sputum; massive hemorrhage is unusual. Other respiratory effects include dyspnea, prolonged expirations, wheezing, scattered rhonchi, accessory muscle use, barrel chest, tachypnea, and clubbing (a late sign).
Coagulation disorders.Such disorders as thrombocytopenia and disseminated intravascular coagulation can cause hemoptysis. Besides their specific related findings, these disorders may share such general signs as multisystem hemorrhaging (for example, GI bleeding or epistaxis) and purpuric lesions.
Lung abscess.In about 50% of patients, lung abscess produces blood-streaked sputum resulting from bronchial ulceration, necrosis, and granulation tissue. Common associated findings include a cough with large amounts of purulent, foul-smelling sputum; a fever with chills; diaphoresis; anorexia; weight loss; a headache; weakness; dyspnea; pleuritic or dull chest pain; and clubbing. Auscultation reveals tubular or cavernous breath sounds and crackles. Percussion reveals dullness on the affected side.
Lung cancer.Ulceration of the bronchus commonly causes recurring hemoptysis (an early sign), which can vary from blood-streaked sputum to blood. Related findings include a productive cough, dyspnea, a fever, anorexia, weight loss, wheezing, and chest pain (a late symptom).
Plague(Yersinia pestis).The pneumonic form of this acute bacterial infection can produce hemoptysis, a productive cough, chest pain, tachypnea, dyspnea, increasing respiratory distress, and cardiopulmonary insufficiency, along with the sudden onset of chills, a fever, a headache, and myalgia.
Pneumonia.In up to 50% of cases, Klebsiella pneumonia produces dark brown or red (currant jelly) sputum, which is so tenacious that the patient has difficulty expelling it from his mouth. This type of pneumonia begins abruptly with chills, a fever, dyspnea, a productive cough, and severe pleuritic chest pain. Associated findings may include cyanosis, prostration, tachycardia, decreased breath sounds, and crackles.
Pneumococcal pneumonia causes pinkish or rusty mucoid sputum. It begins with sudden, shaking chills; a rapidly rising temperature; and, in over 80% of cases, tachycardia and tachypnea. Within a few hours, the patient typically experiences a productive cough along with severe, stabbing, pleuritic pain. The agonizing chest pain leads to rapid, shallow, grunting respirations with splinting. Examination reveals respiratory distress with dyspnea and accessory muscle use, crackles, and dullness on percussion over the affected lung. Malaise, weakness, myalgia, and prostration accompany a high fever.
Pulmonary edema.Severe cardiogenic or noncardiogenic pulmonary edema commonly causes frothy, blood-tinged pink sputum, which accompanies severe dyspnea, orthopnea, gasping, anxiety, cyanosis, diffuse crackles, a ventricular gallop, and cold, clammy skin. This life-threatening condition may also cause tachycardia, lethargy, cardiac arrhythmias, tachypnea, hypotension, and a thready pulse.
Pulmonary embolism with infarction.Hemoptysis is a common finding in pulmonary embolism with infarction, a life-threatening disorder, although massive hemoptysis is infrequent. Typical initial symptoms are dyspnea and anginal or pleuritic chest pain. Other common clinical features include tachycardia, tachypnea, a low-grade fever, and diaphoresis. Less commonly, splinting of the chest, leg edema, and—with a large embolus—cyanosis, syncope, and jugular vein distention may occur. Examination reveals decreased breath sounds, a pleural friction rub, crackles, diffuse wheezing, dullness on percussion, and signs of circulatory collapse (a weak, rapid pulse; hypotension), cerebral ischemia (transient loss of consciousness, seizures), and hypoxemia (restlessness and, particularly in elderly patients, hemiplegia and other focal neurologic deficits).
Pulmonary hypertension (primary).With pulmonary hyperension, features generally develop late. Hemoptysis, exertional dyspnea, and fatigue are common. Angina-like pain usually occurs with exertion and may radiate to the neck but not to the arms. Other findings include arrhythmias, syncope, a cough, and hoarseness.
Pulmonary TB.Blood-streaked or blood-tinged sputum commonly occurs in pulmonary TB; massive hemoptysis may occur in advanced cavitary TB. Accompanying respiratory findings include a chronic productive cough, fine crackles after coughing, dyspnea, dullness on percussion, increased tactile fremitus, and possible amphoric breath sounds. The patient may also develop night sweats, malaise, fatigue, a fever, anorexia, weight loss, and pleuritic chest pain.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).In 50% of patients with SLE, pleuritis and pneumonitis cause hemoptysis, a cough, dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, and crackles. Related findings are a butterfly rash in the acutephase, nondeforming joint pain and stiffness, photosensitivity, Raynaud's phenomenon, seizures or psychoses, anorexia with weight loss, and lymphadenopathy.
Tracheal trauma.Torn tracheal mucosa may cause hemoptysis, hoarseness, dysphagia, neck pain, airway occlusion, and respiratory distress.
Other causes
Diagnostic tests.Lung or airway injury from bronchoscopy, laryngoscopy, mediastinoscopy, or lung biopsy can cause bleeding and hemoptysis.
Nursing considerations
▪ If necessary, to protect the nonbleeding lung, place the patient in the lateral decubitus position, with the suspected bleeding lung facing down.
▪ Perform this maneuver with caution because hypoxemia may worsen with the healthy lung facing up.
▪ Prepare the patient for diagnostic tests to determine the cause of bleeding, such as a complete blood count, a sputum culture and smear, chest X-rays, coagulation studies, bronchoscopy, lung biopsy, pulmonary arteriography, and a lung scan.
Patient teaching
▪ Give the patient instructions for providing sputum specimens.
▪ Explain the underlying cause of hemoptysis and its treatment.
▪ Explain the importance of reporting recurrent episodes.
Pictures
Book Source Details
- Book Title: Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms
- Author(s): Springhouse
- Year of Publication: 2007
- Copyright Details: Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms, Copyright © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Other Book Chapters Related to Phlegm symptoms
Read excerpts from these other book chapters related to Phlegm symptoms:
Medical Books Excerpts
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- "Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs" (2003)
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- "Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition)" (2006)
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- "The 10-Minute Diagnosis Manual: Symptoms and Signs in the Time-Limited Encounter" (2000)
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- "Alarming Signs and Symptoms: Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice Series" (2007)
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- "Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses" (2007)
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- "The Diagnostic Approach to Symptoms and Signs in Pediatrics" (2006)
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Copyright Details: Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms, Copyright © 2008 Williams & Wilkins.
More About Causes of Phlegm symptoms
» Next page: HEMOPTYSIS (Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care)
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