Habit Mimics the Illness: EVALI During the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Globally, health care providers have been challenged to provide adequate care during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Due to the ever changing and rapidly evolving nature of the novel coronavirus, there is increased public anxiety and knowledge gaps that have created major dilemmas in health care delivery. In this environment, there is tremendous pressure on clinicians to diagnose each and every case of COVID-19. This has led to a situation in which clinicians are primed to suspect all respiratory illness is due to COVID-19 infection until proven otherwise. Because of this, providers may misdiagnose patients who have illnesses that are distinct from COVID-19 but present in a similar manner. In the current article, we present the case of e-cigarette- and vaping-associated acute lung injury (EVALI) mimicking pneumonia secondary to the novel coronavirus. It is unknown if vaping puts patients at higher risk of respiratory failure if coinfected with COVID-19. Therefore, exposure history in patients presenting with pneumonia-like syndrome is important. Physicians should be aware of the overlap between these conditions and should pay particular attention during history taking to distinguish EVALI from COVID-19 pneumonia.