BRONCHIAL ARTERY EMBOLIZATION FOR SEVERE HEMOPTYSIS IN CYSTIC-FIBROSIS

We studied the long-term outcome after BAE for life-threatening hemoptysis in patients with CF. Data from pulmonary function tests were available for 18 of the 25 patients followed. A case-control comparison revealed that these 18 patients died sooner than hemoptysis-free patients with CF matched for age, sex, and pulmonary function (p < 0.02), with the excess mortality occurring within the first three months after BAE. Of all 25 patients followed, six died of cardiorespiratory failure within three months of BAE; in two of them, hemoptysis was a contributing cause of death. The 19 patients who lived more than three months after BAE had a mean survival after embolization of 3.5 years (five were still alive at the end of the study). Most patients experienced long intervals (> 1 year) free of major hemoptysis. Extended follow-up (mean, 35 months) revealed a higher incidence of recurrent severe bleeding than previously reported for 13 of these patients followed a mean of 11 months. Repeat BAE for severe recurrence was performed successfully in eight of the nine patients, without complication.