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BOSTON, Massachusetts – Health officials in Massachusetts are demanding data collection on potential cases of lung disease linked to the use of e-cigarettes and vaping.
Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said on Wednesday that any suspected case of lung disease associated with the e-cigarette or unexplained vaping should be reported immediately to the Ministry of Public Health for the next 12 months.
Last month, the agency sent an alert to 25,000 health care providers in Massachusetts, asking them to voluntarily report lung disease related to the attack on steam.
"Today's action sets the legal framework for health care providers to report suspected cases so we can get a better idea of the overall burden of disease in Massachusetts," Bharel said in a statement. written.
She added that the reports would also help the state to provide the caseload to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who are trying to understand the impact of vaping nationwide.
US health authorities are investigating the possible causes of hundreds of serious respiratory illnesses among people using electronic cigarettes and vaping devices. They identified about 450 possible cases in 33 states, including six deaths.
Massachusetts is actively investigating several suspected cases of pulmonary pneumonia. There was no confirmed case in Massachusetts.
The last time the state commissioner for health gave a similar mandate, it was two years ago. This mandate required providers to report cases of amnesia associated with intravenous drug use.
The new mandate was sent to all Massachusetts clinicians (internal medicine, family medicine, general medicine, emergency medicine and clinical care), as well as to pediatricians, pulmonologists and nurse practitioners.
It asks claimants to report any case of a person with inexplicable progressive symptoms of shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, cough or weight loss, regardless of their severity, as well as the ability of the person to treat the condition. an abnormal chest imaging study associated with vaping.
In cases reported to the CDC, patients experienced coughing, shortness of breath and fatigue. The symptoms worsened days or weeks before their admission to the hospital.
Fever, anorexia, pleuritic chest pain, nausea and diarrhea were other symptoms reported by some patients.
All patients had reported to be vaping in the weeks and months prior to their hospitalization.
No specific product was identified in all cases, no product was conclusively linked to the clinical syndrome.
According to the state's health department, 41 percent of high school students in Massachusetts have already tried e-cigarettes at least once. About 20% of them reported using e-cigarettes in the last 30 days – a rate six times higher than adults.
Nearly 10% of middle school students say they have already tried the electronic cigarette.
A 2018 law signed by Governor Charlie Baker includes the electronic cigarette in the definition of tobacco, making it illegal for the vape to be banned from smoking. The law also increased to 21 the legal minimum number of sales of tobacco products – including electronic cigarettes.
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