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Case report
Case of e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) in London, UK
  1. Ruth Elizabeth Evans1,2,
  2. Sophie Herbert1,2,
  3. William Owen2 and
  4. Deepak Rao2
  1. 1Medicine, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  2. 2Medicine, Princess Royal University Hospital, Orpington, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Ruth Elizabeth Evans; Ruth.evans12{at}nhs.net

Abstract

We present a case of a 38-year-old man with no medical comorbidities who presented to the hospital with haemoptysis and shortness of breath on a background of vaping home-manufactured cannabis oil. He developed e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) visible on chest X-ray requiring oxygen, and corticosteroid treatment before making a recovery. Research reports that the contents vitamin E acetate and tetrahydrocannabinol are frequently found in substances acquired from informal sources which increase the likelihood of EVALI developing. Further research into their synergistic effect is ongoing. Although safer than smoking, vaping is not risk free and EVALI should be considered in patients presenting with respiratory disease.

  • respiratory medicine
  • drug misuse (including addiction)
  • smoking and tobacco

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2020-240700

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    Footnotes

    • REE and SH are joint first authors.

    • Contributors REE and SH contributed equally to the authorship of this case based discussion. The case itself was suggested by DR who along with WO reviewed it critically and made further suggestions to the finished draft. All authors have approved the uploaded version.

    • 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.