At a press conference, Chief Medical Officer at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Dr. Michael Gutzeit said, “We suspect that these injuries were caused by vaping.”
They had symptoms of cough, breathlessness, and fatigue, which worsened over days or weeks before they arrived at the hospital. Some of them had symptoms of fever, chest pain, nausea, diarrhea, and anorexia. Dr. Gutzeit said their X-rays and scans showed lung inflammation and swelling.
All eight patients were tested negative for infectious diseases. They reported vaping in the weeks and months before hospitalization.
“The severity of health condition has varied, with some patients needing assistance in order to breathe,” said Dr. Gutzeit.
The chief medical officer added that the patients have shown improvement after treatment; however, any long-term effects are unknown.
There is an exponential increase in teenage vaping and doctors are concerned that more teens may develop similar lung damage due to vaping, requiring hospitalization.
According to the health department, 11 percent of middle schoolers have tried e-tobacco products and 4 percent of middle schoolers are using them in Wisconsin.
E-cigarettes were introduced in the United States, which contain nicotine, the same addictive chemical found in cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Nicotine is known to damage certain parts of the brain that control learning and attention.
Wisconsin health officials said that ingesting the water vapor cloud, which emits from burning e-liquids, could cause vomiting, confusion, heart rhythm problems, coma, and even death.
The CDC said that researchers who have analyzed e-liquids said that sometimes they contain heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead.
In the United States, vaping among middle and high school students has increased 900 percent from 2011 to 2015. More than 3 million teenagers across the United States currently use e-cigs. Dr. Gutzeit said, “It’s very important for teens and parents to understand more about vaping. Talk to each other. Understand the risks of vaping.”
