Cannabinoid Oil Vaping-Associated Lung Injury and its Radiographic Appearance.

BACKGROUND

Lung injury associated with cannabinoid oil vaping is rapidly becoming a serious public health concern. We describe the clinical and radiographic presentations of 5 patients with lung injury associated with vaping cannabinoid oils seen at a single institution.

RESULTS

Of the 5 patients with suspected vaping-associated lung injury seen at our institution, 4 required supplemental oxygen, and all these 4 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, which revealed lipid-laden macrophages in 2 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 5 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. Bronchoalveolar lavage results suggest that this injury may related to a toxic form of lipoid pneumonia.