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Teen develops 'wet lung' after vaping for 3 weeks

A Pennsylvania teen developed respiratory failure and needed to be placed on a breathing machine as a result of vaping, doctors say. In a case study published in the journal Pediatrics, physicians detail how the 18-year-old had been using e-cigarettes for only three weeks before being rushed to the emergency room at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

A Pennsylvania teen developed respiratory failure and needed to be placed on a breathing machine as a result of vaping, doctors say. In a case study published in the journal Pediatrics, physicians detail how the 18-year-old had been using e-cigarettes for only three weeks before being rushed to the emergency room at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

The young woman, who worked as a restaurant hostess, was not identified due to privacy concerns. She came to the hospital with symptoms of coughing, difficulty breathing, and chest pain. Doctors put her on antibiotics, but her condition worsened and she developed a type of lung inflammation called hypersensitivity pneumonitis. In addition to a ventilator, doctors also needed to insert tubes to drain fluid from her lungs.

Doctors diagnosed her with acute respiratory distress syndrome, sometimes referred to as "wet lung." Dr. Casey Sommerfeld, the girl's pediatrician and lead study author of the report, explains that this occurs when "an acute inflammatory lung injury leads to increased pulmonary vascular permeability, or 'leaky blood vessels,' with subsequent fluid accumulation in the lungs."

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