There have been 380 confirmed or probable cases of serious lung illness linked to vaping, using new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) case definitions.
The CDC previously reported at least 450 possible cases under investigation but said it now would only report on those that were confirmed or probable.
In both case categories, patients recently vaped and developed a breathing illness, and other possible causes have been ruled out. In a confirmed case, however, testing did not show an infection. In a probable case, some tests have been performed to rule out infection.
Cases have occurred in 36 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There have been six deaths, which occurred in California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota and Oregon.
The patients, many of whom are adolescents and young adults, have complained of difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and/or chest pain. Some also experienced diarrhea, vomiting, fever and fatigue, according to the CDC. In many of the cases, patients had used e-cigarettes with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Earlier this week, the Trump administration proposed banning flavored e-cigarettes that have not been reviewed and approved by the Food and Drug Administration, a move applauded by the AAP. Flavored products have been linked to skyrocketing teen use. Preliminary new data shows more than a quarter of high school students recently vaped.
Clinicians should consider vaping-related illnesses in patients with lung disease, collect detailed information on the products patients were using and report suspected cases to their state health department. Detailed guidance from the CDC is available at https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00421.asp. For information about the collection of e-cigarette products for possible testing by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), contact: [email protected].
The CDC also encourages the public to report any unexpected tobacco or e-cigarette-related health or product issues to the FDA’s online Safety Reporting Portal, http://www.safetyreporting.hhs.gov.
