Clinicians have described the case of a man who was diagnosed with acute hypersensitivity pneumonitis after using e-cigarettes.
Presenting the case at the 81st CHEST Annual meeting this week the researchers said the 23-year-old morbidly obese man presented to the Emergency Department with worsening productive cough, rust coloured sputum, and shortness of breath.
The patient had no significant medical history but admitted to using an e-cigarette device for the past six months.
The patient’s flu-like symptoms, atypical radiological findings, bronchoscopic finding and lung biopsy results were all consistent with hypersensitivity pneumonitis, the researchers told conference delegates.
The fact that the patient rapidly improved after stopping vaping, supported the clinical diagnosis, they said.
Studies had linked e-cigarette “vaping” sessions to onset of eosinophilic and lipoid pneumonia, as well as sub-acute bronchiolitis.
E-cigarette aerosols had also been identified as inducing pro-inflammatory mediators in human lung tissue and mouse models.
“There is need for further investigation in the pathogenesis of lung disease associated with E-cigarette use… and a need to regulate these products because of safety concerns,” they said.