BACKGROUND: Lung injury associated with cannabinoid oil vaping is rapidly becoming a serious public health concern. We describe the clinical and radiographic presentations of five patients with lung injury associated with vaping cannabinoid oils seen at a single institution.
RESULTS: Of the five patients with suspected vaping associated lung injury seen at our institution, four required supplemental oxygen, and all these four were admitted to the hospital. Three patients required admission to the Intensive Care Unit. None of the patients required mechanical ventilation. All patients demonstrated a consistent radiologic appearance of diffuse bilateral ground-glass lung opacities that spared the extreme periphery. Three patients underwent bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), which revealed lipid-laden macrophages in two of them. All patients were successfully discharged from the hospital. Four received only supportive care, while the fifth required intravenous followed by oral corticosteroids.
CONCLUSIONS: We report the clinical and radiographic presentation of five patients at our institution with cannabinoid oil vaping associated lung injury. All patients displayed a consistent chest radiographic pattern of injury. Most responded to supportive care, although one required the addition of corticosteroids. BAL results suggest that this injury may related to a toxic form of lipoid pneumonia.