Blood Clots Mimicking Peripheral Intrabronchial Tumors in Patients with Hemoptysis: CT and Bronchoscopic Findings

We report radiographic and clinical findings in two cigarette-smoking patients presenting with hemoptysis. On CT, both patients had peripheral intrabronchial masses together with parenchymal opacities. Bronchoscopy revealed the intrabronchial masses to be blood clots and the parenchymal opacities to correspond to areas of parenchymal hemorrhage. Our cases are novel in that both bronchial and parenchymal sequelae of hemorrhage were simultaneously visualized by CT. Also, our findings suggest that bronchial blood clots should be included in the differential diagnosis of peripheral intrabronchial lesions, notably in patients presenting with hemoptysis.