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Previous testingrevealed the presence of vitamin E acetate in illegal vape cartridges containing THC.
Getty / Bonfanti Diego
So finding it in these patients lungs is not entirely surprising.
And officials say they are not ruling out a potential issue with nicotine vape cartridges.
But theres still a lot to be uncovered.
We still dont know the root causeorcausesof the symptoms.
In most situations, doctors can reconstruct what the likely cause of those symptoms is, she says.
So we could be dealing with a few similar conditions rather than just one.
What was actually in those vapes, anyway?
The CDC says that no one productvape or cartridge or fillinghas been implicated in all the cases.
Even within the category of e-cigarettes, theres a ton of variation, Dr. Neptune says.
One thing we do know about is diacetyl, a chemical used to give foods a buttery flavor.
Today there arespecific recommendationsfor workers in environments where they might breathe in flavorings such as diacetyl.
But the truth is that we dont have much data for the respiratory effects of most chemical flavorings.
When we inhale anything that is not that, we should expect a problem.
Are the symptoms confined to the lungs?
And if so, what part of the lungs?
So far, though, an infectious disease does not seem to be the issue,the CDC says.
How many cases are there, really?
That is the unknown factor here.
So the actual number of cases out there could be higher than what the CDC has confirmed so far.
Is there something else all of these patients have in common?
The bottom line: Experts have been waiting for some sort of vaping-related issue like this.
And none of the experts we spoke to were surprised to see these cases.
Were looking at a series of cases that were to some extent entirely predictable, Dr. Neptune says.
I dont think anyone in the medical field is surprised with whats going on, Dr. Choi agrees.
And tighter regulations around cannabis-related vapesespeciallythose containing CBDwould be welcome too.
