December 3rd

Warning of serious lung injury associated with vaping in young person

Nisha Nair and colleagues from Nottingham, UK report a case of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) in a young person secondary to vaping. He presented with a putative diagnosis of asthma and required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) because of intractable respiratory failure. He developed a critical illness and steroid myopathy and required prolonged rehabilitation. He fulfilled diagnostic criteria for HP secondary to e-cigarettes. The authors urge us to consider a reaction to e-cigarettes in someone presenting with an atypical respiratory illness. They also warn that “we consider e-cigarettes as ‘much safer than tobacco’ at our peril.”

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2019-317889

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