Efficacy of common embolic materials for bronchial artery embolization treatment in hemoptysis patients—based on Angio-CT: a retrospective study

To evaluate the safety, efficacy, and long-term prognosis of gelatin sponge (GS), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), or their combined use for bronchial artery embolization (BAE) in patients with hemoptysis treated in an angiography-computed tomography (Angio-CT) suite. A total of 76 patients with hemoptysis between January 2020 and June 2024 were divided into three groups: the GS group ( n = 23), the PVA group ( n = 26), and the combined group ( n = 27). All patients underwent routine preoperative computed tomography angiography (CTA) and received BAE in an Angio-CT suite. Etiology and hemoptysis volume, number of embolized arteries, procedure-related complications, follow-up information, clinical success rate, recurrence rate, hemoptysis-free survival, and overall survival were recorded and assessed. There were no statistical differences among the GS, PVA, and combined groups in clinical success rate (91.3% vs. 96.2% vs. 96.3%, P = 0.679). The 6-month hemoptysis recurrence rates were 30.4% (7/23), 19.2% (5/26), and 3.7% (1/27) in the GS, PVA, and combined groups, respectively (nominal P = 0.041). Overall survival did not differ significantly among the three groups ( P = 0.364), whereas a nominal difference in hemoptysis-free survival was observed in the combined group versus the GS and PVA groups (nominal P = 0.021). No serious adverse reactions occurred during follow-up. In this retrospective cohort, the combined group showed a lower observed recurrence rate and a nominally longer hemoptysis-free survival than the GS and PVA groups. However, these findings should be interpreted as exploratory and hypothesis-generating because this was a single-center, retrospective, non-matched study with small group sizes, and the nominal P values would not be considered definitive after conservative multiplicity correction. No serious adverse reactions occurred, and overall survival did not differ among groups.