Methods: Between January 2002 and November 2008, 73 patients (11 females 62 males; mean age 52±13 years; range 16 to 78 years) who had BAE due to hemoptysis were included in this study. Demographics of the cases, etiology of hemoptysis, form of hemoptysis (massive or not), the number of embolisation, early and late complications after procedure were recorded. Twenty three cases had massive hemoptysis, 40 had non-massive hemoptysis attacks and 14 had massive hemoptysis attacks. Sixty three cases (86%) had bronchoscopy prior to procedure. Bronchial artery embolization was done only once in 59 patients, twice in 10 and three times in four patients.

Results: While the most common etiologies were bronchiectasis (n=12), tuberculosis (n=32) and lung cancer (n=17), no etiologies could be detected in seven cases. Hemoptysis recurred in 16 cases in the first 30 days. After the embolization process, 10 cases had chest pain, six cases had fever and three cases had pneumonia complications in the early period. Also, one case had bronchial arterial dissection, one case had temporary paresthesia, and one case infarcts of intraabdominal organs. The patients were followed up for 31±17 months (range 6-72). In the late period, hemoptysis recurred in 20 cases. During the follow-up, seven cases died due to massive hemoptysis and 10 cases died due to other causes. No complications and hemoptysis were observed in 47 cases (64%).

Conclusion: Although BAE has some rare but severe complications, it is an effective and safe method for hemoptysis treatment.