Ventura County public health officials said this week that two Ventura County residents are suspected of having suffered vaping associated pulmonary injuries.
The cases were reported to the California Department of Public Health, which is investigating whether they meet their case definition.
As of this date, the state department of public health has identified 37 cases of acute lung disease among people with a recent history of vaping, some of whom vaped unlicensed or unregulated cannabis products.
The Centers for Disease Control is investigating vaping as a possible cause of progressive and often severe respiratory distress, sometimes first diagnosed as pneumonia or bronchitis. Such cases may be accompanied by fever and gastrointestinal symptoms.
All of the cases failed to respond to an initial course of antibiotic treatment. Patients have required admission to the hospital for respiratory support, including oxygen and intubation with mechanical ventilation.
Most patients have improved with steroids, although some have not regained normal lung function.
Evaluation for infectious causes has been negative to date in all patients.
One patient in Illinois has died.
“I’m concerned that vaping is a gateway to cigarette smoking, that it carries a risk of causing lung cancer and that there are unknown risks associated with all the different flavorants and other uncontrolled substances in the vaped material,” said Dr. Robert Levin, health officer for Ventura County. “If this association between vaping and severe pulmonary injuries bears out, it will be another and unexpected grave side effect.”
Vaping refers to the practice of inhaling vapor from an e-cigarette. Although many have successfully quit traditional cigarettes with the aid of vaping, the long-term health impacts of the habit are unknown.
The liquids used in e-cigarettes are largely unregulated, and they can contain toxic chemicals that can cause lung damage.
The common perception that vaping is safe or safer than smoking has been open to question, with health authorities expressing concerns about its dangers.
All patients being investigated for severe pulmonary injuries by the CDC reported vaping in the weeks before hospital admission, and a reported common exposure between the patients is that they had been vaping either nicotine, cannabis or CBD oils, county health said.
No specific brand name of vaping product has been implicated.
Twenty-two cases were first reported in four states on Aug. 15.
Six days later, 153 cases were reported in 16 states.
Recently, the CDC reported 193 cases in 22 states of severe pulmonary injuries that it believed was caused by vaping and over 200 cases nationwide.
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