Going Deeper into the Pathology of Vaping-Associated Lung Injury

By the end of 2019, the CDC had reported over 2,000 hospitalizations and over 60 confirmed deaths due to vaping associated lung injury. While research into the pathology of vaping-associated lung injury is in its early phases, Dr. Brandon Larsen and his pathology colleagues at the Mayo Clinic published research in the New England Journal of Medicine in early October (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1913069) finding that lung injuries from vaping most likely are caused by direct toxicity or tissue damage from noxious chemical fumes. In addition, Dr. Larsen and his colleagues published subsequent correspondence in this same publication cautioning clinicians against performing lipid stains on bronchial fluid or lung tissue from adult patients (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1914980). In this CAPcast interview, Dr. Larsen discusses what CAP members need to know about the pathology of vaping-associated lung injury.