Vaping associated spontaneous pneumothorax – A case series of an enigmatic entity!

Abstract

The use of electronic nicotine delivery devices (ENDDs) has risen to an epidemic level among high schoolers and people aged 18–34. To our knowledge there are only 7 reported cases of spontaneous pneumothorax (SP-PTX) associated with vaping, and herein we describe 4 additional cases. We propose identifying this disease process as a novel entity, Vaping-Associated Spontaneous Pneumothorax (VASP). VASP requires early interventional treatment and has a high recurrence rate, and we suggest that vaping cessation and early interventional treatment including tube thoracostomy and surgical treatment is necessary in most cases to prevent recurrences.

Keywords

• Vaping induced lung injury
• EVALI
• Electronic cigarettes
• Spontaneous pneumothorax