Reports of severe pulmonary disease after vaping have grown to 153.
The patients, many of whom are adolescents and young adults, are reporting difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and/or chest pain. Some also experienced diarrhea, vomiting and fatigue, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Bilateral opacities were found on chest radiographs, and diffuse ground-glass opacities were found during CT chest imaging. Infectious diseases do not appear to be responsible for the illnesses, which have resulted in hospitalizations but no deaths.
The illnesses have been reported in 16 states since the end of June — California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. The CDC is assisting several of these states in investigating and has not confirmed all reported cases.
All patients had recently vaped and many also had used products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana.
The CDC recommends clinicians ask patients with respiratory illness about their use of e-cigarettes and drugs. If patients have been vaping, ask about the type of product used, whether they shared it, if they have re-used old cartridges or pods, if they heated a drug to concentrate it, what type of device they used to inhale it, and if the device or liquid is available for testing. The CDC said these patients may need aggressive support care and consultation with specialists.
Clinicians should report vaping-related illnesses to their state or local health department as well as to the Food and Drug Administration’s Safety Reporting Portal.
