Dozens of Teens Were Hospitalized This Week From Vaping

Over the past several weeks, hospitals in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin reported over 20 cases of individuals suffering from severe breathing difficulties after vaping. Some of these patients also suffered from chest pain, vomiting, and other symptoms. In California, doctors also reported recent illnesses that they believe are linked to cannabis vaping products.

Children’s Minnesota, a pediatric care facility in Minneapolis, recently admitted four teens who experienced breathing problems immediately after vaping. After being admitted, the patients showed “significant difficulties breathing and increasing lung distress,” said Dr. Emily Chapman, chief medical officer at Children’s Minnesota, to NBC News. “They’ve ended up needing our intensive care unit and in some cases assistance with their breathing.”

Doctors originally suspected that these patients were suffering from respiratory infections, but the symptoms did not improve after standard antibiotic treatments. After ruling out respiratory infections, doctors looked to environmental factors, and discovered that each of the patients had vaped nicotine or cannabis during the weeks leading up to their hospitalization.

Physicians have not been able to establish any other common thread among these patients, however, and are unsure whether the sudden outbreak of illness can be linked to any specific vaping device or e-liquid.