Anomalous origin of bronchial arteries in patients with cystic fibrosis: therapeutic implications for embolisation.

Bronchial artery embolisation (BAE) is an accepted method of controlling haemoptysis in patients with cystic fibrosis. However, anomalous origin of the bronchial arteries, documented in anatomical and angiographic studies, makes the procedure more difficult and increases the number of recurrences. Clinical records and films from three patients affected by cystic fibrosis with haemoptysis, in which the origin of the bleeding vessels was considered anomalous, out of a total of seven patients who underwent BAE, were reviewed. In two patients the source of bleeding was identified from, respectively, the left and the right internal mammary artery and in one from the left thyrocervical trunk. All the vessels considered to be the possible source of haemoptysis were embolised; immediate control of haemoptysis after embolisation was achieved in all patients, but minor haemoptysis recurred in two patients who were conservatively treated. In haemoptysis in patients with cystic fibrosis the possibility of anomalous origin of the bronchial arteries should be considered. This frequency may be higher than in other pulmonary diseases that cause haemoptysis, so a search for anomalous bronchial arteries is mandatory to achieve accurate embolisation and reduce the rate of recurrence.