Electronic Cigarette, or Vaping, Use Associated Lung Injury - "EVALI" in Utah
Since early 2019, a devastating illness called “electronic cigarette, or vaping, use associated lung injury," (EVALI) has afflicted thousands of people across the United States. The illness has hit close to home, with the state of Utah experiencing the highest per capita rate of EVALI cases across the country. A concerning feature is that it disproportionately affects youths, with a median age of 26 years old for those afflicted. As of November, 39 have died, including one in Utah.
The University of Utah, in conjunction with state health departments in the Midwest and North Carolina, published the earliest descriptions of this destructive illness. Drs. Meghan Cirulis and Sean Maddock, fellows in the Division of Respiratory, Critical Care and Occupational Pulmonary Medicine, described an important pathologic feature of patients who vape regularly in their letter to the New England Journal of Medicine. Their early findings have since been corroborated in subsequent reports of EVALI.
Drs. Scott Aberegg and Sean Callahan have broadened efforts to aid the nationwide response to the outbreak, working with both stateand national CDC branches to describe this illness and develop practice guidelines for physicians. They are currently collaborating with pulmonary divisions across the country to better understand the pathologic underpinnings of EVALI and diagnosing the illness with more certainty.
Public health efforts will tame EVALI, but rates of e-cigarette use continue at alarmingly high rates and its long-term aftereffects are unknown. Hearkening back to basic science, the Division of Respiratory, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine is expanding research to target the sequelae of vaping in healthy patients. By leading the way in understanding its physiologic underpinnings, they will develop a more thorough understanding of EVALI and the effects of vaping on asymptomatic e-cigarette users.
If you have a patient suspected of having EVALI please contact Scott Aberegg (scott.aberegg@hsc.utah.edu) or Sean Callahan (Sean.Callahan@hsc.utah.edu).