Vaping-associated lung injury caused by inhalation of cannabis oil.

Vaping is a growing concern in adolescents, and a growing proportion is using electronic devices to inhale cannabis oil. The short-term and long-term effects of cannabis oil inhalation are not well understood. We report on a case of severe acute lung injury secondary to inhalation of cannabis oil via a vape pen, and propose a new term that describes lung injury related to vaping.

A comparison of high frequency chest wall oscillation and intrapulmonary percussive ventilation for airway clearance in pediatric patients with tracheostomy.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare two modes of airway clearance, the intrapulmonary percussive ventilation system (IPV) to high frequency chest wall oscillation system (HFCWO) in medically complex pediatric patients with tracheostomy requiring long term care. METHODS: This was a single center, retrospective study comparing the number of respiratory illnesses, lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI), utilization of bronchodilator and systemic steroids, and respiratory illnesses requiring acute care hospitalizations. A total of 8 tracheostomy dependent patients between the ages of 1-22 years were included for a 2-year study period. Each patient was used as their own control. During the period studied, the only variable in the medical regimen was the modality used for airway clearance. A Poisson regression model and generalized estimating equations were used to compare pre and post rates and to account for the correlation of count data from the same individual. Additionally, the paired differences (post-pre) for each event count were computed to provide the median and range of reductions in event rates while using intrapulmonary percussive ventilation system device. The non-parametric wilcoxon signed-rank test employed to determine whether the results from the Poisson model were consistently observed regardless of method of analysis. RESULTS: The total number of respiratory illnesses were reduced from 32 per year on HFCWO therapy to 15 per year on IPV system therapy (p < 0.001). The total number of LRTI requiring antibiotic use were decreased from 15 per year to 6 per year (p = 0.01), use of bronchodilator treatments were reduced from 53 to 21 (p < 0.001) and utilization of systemic steroids were reduced from 12 to 4 on IPV (p = 0.003). Numbers of hospitalizations to acute care facilities were reduced from 8 to 3 hospitalizations during the period of IPV use for airway clearance (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that airway clearance by IPV therapy could be more effective and beneficial in providing airway clearance in specific subsets of the medically complex pediatric population.

Persistent Tachypnea and Alveolar Hemorrhage in an Infant: An Unexpected Etiology.

Persistent tachypnea and failure to thrive during infancy have a broad differential diagnosis which includes pulmonary and cardiovascular disorders. Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a rare entity in children. DAH requires an extensive work-up as certain conditions may need chronic therapy. Cardiovascular disorders are included in the etiology of DAH. We present a case of an 8-month-old female with a moderate, restrictive patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) admitted to the hospital with respiratory distress and failure to thrive. An extensive work-up into tachypnea including multiple echocardiograms did not find an etiology. Open lung biopsy was performed and consistent with pulmonary hypertension. After closure of the PDA, patient's tachypnea improved, and she was discharged home with periodic follow-up showing a growing, thriving child. When an infant presents with tachypnea, a respiratory viral illness is often a common cause. The diagnosis of persistent tachypnea requires further investigation. Echocardiography, although readily available, may not always be sensitive in detecting clinically significant pulmonary hypertension. A clinician must have a heightened index of suspicion to proceed in evaluating for causes of tachypnea with a nonrespiratory etiology.

The effects of low-level environmental tobacco smoke exposure on pulmonary function tests in preschool children with asthma.

OBJECTIVES: Though parents of children with asthma smoke, they often avoid smoking in their homes or near their children, thus limiting exposure. It is not known if such low-level environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) results in measurable exposure or affects lung function. The objectives of this study were to measure urinary cotinine in preschool children with asthma, and to examine the relationship between low-level ETS exposure and pulmonary function tests (PFTs). METHODS: Preschool children with asthma were enrolled. Parents completed questionnaires on ETS exposure and asthma control, urinary cotinine concentrations were measured and PFTs were compared between subjects with and without recent ETS exposure. RESULTS: Forty one subjects were enrolled. All parents denied smoking in their home within the last 2 weeks, but 14 (34%) parents admitted to smoking outside their homes or away from their children. Fifteen (37%; 95%CI: 23-53) of the children had urinary cotinine levels ≥1 ng/ml, of which seven (17%; 95%CI: 8-32) had levels ≥5 ng/ml. FEV1 and FEV0.5 were lower in subjects with a urinary cotinine level ≥5 ng/ml as compared to those with levels <1 ng/ml or between 1 and 5 ng/ml; both at baseline and after inhalation of albuterol. Five of seven subjects with urinary cotinine levels ≥5 ng/ml had FEV0.5 less than 65% of predicted values. There were no significant differences in IOS measures. CONCLUSIONS: Despite parental denial of smoking near their children, preschool children may be exposed to ETS. Such low-level ETS exposure may affect lung function, possibly in a dose-dependent manner.