🩸 Hemoptysis Grading & Management
This tool grades hemoptysis severity, recognizes massive hemoptysis, and frames the emergency management pathway.
Hemoptysis Grading & Management
Severity
When to use
Use to triage from conservative workup for small-volume bleeding to the airway-first resuscitation and embolization pathway for massive hemoptysis.
How it works
Small-volume → conservative workup. Moderate → admit, monitor, localize. Massive (> 300–600 mL/24 h or respiratory failure/instability) → airway first, bleeding-side-down positioning, coagulation correction, CTA/bronchoscopy, bronchial artery embolization (first-line) or surgery.
Key points
- Death in massive hemoptysis is mostly from asphyxiation rather than exsanguination, so airway protection and positioning take priority over volume replacement. (original synthesis · not guideline verbatim)
- Bronchial artery embolization is the first-line definitive treatment, with surgery reserved for focal disease where it fails.
- An upper-GI or upper-airway source is excluded before attributing bleeding to the lungs.
References
Decision support for licensed clinicians only; not a substitute for clinical judgement, diagnosis or local protocols.