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Case report
Vanishing lung syndrome: a consequence of mixed tobacco and marijuana use
  1. Jordan R Salley1,
  2. Vishal Kukkar2 and
  3. Lanna Felde1
  1. 1Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas, USA
  2. 2Radiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Lanna Felde; lanna.felde{at}utsouthwestern.edu

Abstract

Idiopathic giant bullous emphysema or vanishing lung syndrome (VLS) is a rare, chronic radiological diagnosis characterised by giant emphysematous bullae located primarily in the upper lobes of the lungs. This highly morbid phenotype of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease leads to severe progressive dyspnoea and significant disability. Here, we describe a 48-year-old man with a history significant for long-term tobacco and cannabis smoking, who is found to have VLS. We present a review of recent findings on the association between VLS and the additive effect of marijuana and tobacco.

  • respiratory medicine
  • radiology

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2020-239255

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors All the authors have read and approved the paper. JRS has contributed to the primary writing of this manuscript. LF assisted in writing this manuscript and oversaw this project. VK assisted with manuscript review and figure selection. The principal investigator LF is prepared to take responsibility for the integrity of the content of the manuscript. This manuscript is original work and is not under consideration by any other journal. The authors have no competing interests to declare. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.