Background: Hemoptysis is a common, important and sometimes life-threatening symptom. The causes
of hemoptysis vary significantly between the developed and non-developed countries.
In non-developed countries, tuberculosis remains the most frequent cause of massive
hemoptysis. Management of hemoptysis include conservative treatment, surgery and bronchial
artery embolization (BAE). Since Remy et al. first described BAE for the management
of hemoptysis, several studies have declared the efficacy of BAE in tuberculosis patients.
The aim of this study was to evaluate angiographic findings during BAE in tuberculosis
patients and to compare them with non-tuberculosis patients. Method(s): Patients who underwent BAE between August 2015 and July 2018 in a single interventional
radiology department with hemoptysis refractory to medical and bronchoscopic treatment
were reviewed. A total of 89 patients (66 male and 23 female; mean age 52.71 ± 15.37)
were incorporated in the study. Patients were divided into two groups: tuberculosis
group (n = 36) and non-tuberculosis group (16 malignancy, 22 bronchiectasis, 6 pulmonary
infection, 4 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 4 idiopathic, 1 pulmonary arteriovenous
malformation; n = 53). Angiography and embolization procedure were performed by a
5-year, 10-year, and 20-year experienced interventional radiologists with a classical
method. Angiographic findings were classified as tortuosity, hypertrophy, hypervascularity,
aneurysm, bronchopulmonary shunt, extravasation, and normal bronchial artery. Chi
square test was used to compare angiographic findings between tuberculosis and non-tuberculosis
patient group. Result(s): The most common angiographic findings in tuberculosis patients were tortuosity (%97.2)
as well as hypervascularity (%97.2). Extravasation was seen in only one patient (%2.7).
Bronchopulmonary shunt was found significantly higher in tuberculosis patients compared
to non-tuberculosis group (p = 0.002). None of the groups showed statistically significant
difference in respect to recurrence (p = 0.436). Conclusion(s): BAE is a useful and effective treatment method of hemoptysis in tuberculosis. Bronchopulmonary
shunt was seemed to be significantly higher in tuberculosis patients.
