Tuberc Respir Dis.  2007 Dec;63(6):486-490.

The Effect of Corticosteroid in Conservative Treatment of Patients with Hemoptysis

• Kwon JS
• Yoo SS
• Kang YR
• Lee JW
• Kim EJ
• Cha SI
• Park JY
• Jung TH
• Kim CH

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This study examined the effect of corticosteroids as a short-term treatment for patients with hemoptysis that requires conservative treatment including bed rest, antitussives and antibiotics.
METHODS
From February 2005 to August 2006, 78 consecutive patients who visited the emergency room because of hemoptysis were enrolled in the study. Patients with hemoptysis due to lung cancer, active pulmonary tuberculosis, and pneumonia were excluded. The 78 patients were divided randomly into a corticosteroid medication group (n=37) and a control group (n=41). The mean control time of hemoptysis, mean in-hospital days, and complications of treatment were investigated prospectively.
RESULTS
For the etiology of hemoptysis, inactive pulmonary tuberculosis alone or its associated complications (bronchiectasis and/or aspergilloma) were the most common causes (51%); bronchiectasis alone and bronchitis were the next most common causative diseases (15%, respectively). The patients' characteristics and symptoms in the corticosteroid medication and control groups were similar. The steroid medication group showed a significantly lower mean control time of hemoptysis than the control group (4.0+/-2.7 days, 6.1+/-4.8 days, respectively) (p=0.022) and had a lower mean number of in-hospital days (5.8+/-3.4 days, 7.9+/-4.8 days, respectively) (p=0.036). There were no significant complications, such as hospital-acquired pneumonia or gastrointestinal bleeding, related to the use of corticosteroids.
CONCLUSION
The use of corticosteroids as a conservative treatment for hemoptysis due to bronchitis, bronchiectasis, inactive pulmonary tuberculosis and its related complications safely reduces the control time of hemoptysis as well as the number of in-hospital days.

Keyword

Conservative treatment; Corticosteroid; Hemoptysis

MeSH Terms

Adrenal Cortex Hormones
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Antitussive Agents
Bed Rest
Bronchiectasis
Bronchitis
Emergency Service, Hospital
Hemoptysis*
Hemorrhage
Humans
Lung Neoplasms
Pneumonia
Prospective Studies
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary
Adrenal Cortex Hormones
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Antitussive Agents

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