CDC: Patients with Lung Damage from E-Cigs Can Deteriorate Quickly; Treat Accordingly

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new, interim guidelines on assessing and treating patients with lung disease that could have been caused by use of e-cigarettes. The guidance emphasizes that close follow-up is needed, in light of cases in which “some patients who initially had mild symptoms experienced a rapid worsening of symptoms within 48 hours.”  The CDC says it will continue to refine its recommendations as new data emerge. As of last Friday, there have been 1,299 cases of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (EVALI) spread around 49 states, the District of Columbia, and one U.S. territory; 26 of those patients died.