The following symptoms and complaints may indicate hemoptysis (coughing up blood):
Leading symptoms
- Bleeding from mouth/nose
- Light red/dark red/black color of the blood
Warning signs (red flags)
- Anamnestic information:
- Immigrants, homeless, and elderly patients → think of: Tuberculosis
- Smokers → think of: Bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer) Any smoker with hemoptysis (about 30% of all cases with bronchial carcinoma) should undergo a chest x-ray; this is especially true if other symptoms (e.g., weight loss (about 45% of cases), chronic cough/irritant cough (> 60% of cases), etc.) are present; if the findings are unremarkable, further examinations are required (repeat examinations if necessary, as some changes can only be detected later).
- Acute dyspnea (shortness of breath); especially with simultaneous tachycardia (heartbeat too fast: > 100 beats per minute) → think of: Pulmonary embolism
