Introduction: Hemoptysis is a common clinical problem in emergency departments with a broad differential diagnosis that includes life-threatening causes, hence the patient should be thoroughly assessed.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiological profile of patients admitted for hemoptysis in a Respiratory medicine department and assess the role of imaging modalities in the diagnostic approach.

Methods: We analyzed the medical records of 161 patients admitted with hemoptysis in the Respiratory medicine department of the University Hospital of Ioannina, between July 2020 - December 2022.

Results: The mean age was 68±19.2 years, the majority (79%) were men and 80% had a smoking history. Infections and malignancy were the most frequent causes of hemoptysis (24%), followed by drug-related hemoptysis (21%) and bronchiectasis (13%). Pulmonary embolism and tuberculosis were identified in 6% and 3% of the cases, while definite diagnosis was not established in 11% of the cases. In terms of imaging, abnormal findings were reported in 60% and 86% of Xrays and CT scans, respectively. The main findings were indicative of infection or carcinoma (mass, lymphadenopathy). Massive hemoptysis was present in 5% of the cases and was attributed either to carcinoma or infection with the concurrent use of anticoagulants.

Conclusions: Infections and carcinoma were the primary causes of hemoptysis in our analysis, which is in accordance with the literature. Drug-related hemoptysis, seems to be an emerging cause of hemoptysis, which could be attributed to the increasing use of anticoagulants (40% in our dataset). The diagnostic yield of CT scan was verified, while we are assessing the contribution of bronchoscopy.