Warning for pregnant vapers: Woman has emergency C-section and bleeding in lungs due to habit
AMARILLO, TEXAS: Doctors have warned about the hazards of vaping during pregnancy after a woman nearly lost her baby and almost died following a severe reaction to the device. The 28-year-old, whose identity has not been revealed, was forced to undergo an emergency C-section at 36 weeks due to hemorrhaging in her lungs.
Doctors believe the internal bleeding was caused by constant damage to blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood to and from the heart. The woman was reportedly oxygen deficient and had a rapid heartbeat. After her condition worsened and she did not respond to antibiotics, doctors performed an emergency cesarean to save her unborn child.
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Dangers of vaping
The case was detailed by doctors at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Amarillo, Texas, in a study published in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences. "There has been very limited published literature on the adverse effects of electronic cigarettes despite their introduction in 2007," they wrote. "The use of vaping has overtaken the standard electronic cigarettes in our current time and it has been a challenge to understand the health risks that they have due to the rapidly changing designs and lack of long-term follow-up," they added.
The woman's husband confirmed she had been regularly vaping throughout her pregnancy and had shortness of breath. It is important to note that e-cigarettes are laden with chemicals and volatile organic compounds that are known to coat the lungs, thus causing irritation and potentially irreversible damage. Meanwhile, vaping also carries other health risks including lung scarring and other pulmonary injuries to asthma and cardiovascular damage. Furthermore, the nicotine in e-cigarettes can directly injure a baby in utero by causing abnormal development of the lungs, heart, brain and immune system, which can result in lifelong problems.
Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage
The pregnant woman reportedly arrived at the hospital in Texas complaining of shortness of breath. Doctors, however, did not reveal how long she had had her symptoms. After a number of tests, they determined that her heart rate was abnormally high at about 110 to 120 beats per minute and that she was hypoxemic, meaning oxygen levels in her blood were considerably lower than normal. Doctors had no choice but to recommend an emergency C-section as her condition worsened.
Following the procedure, there was blood in the patient's urine. She was also coughing up blood and so doctors performed a bronchoscopy to have a look at her lungs and air passages. They ultimately diagnosed her with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) -- a type of hemorrhage characterized by bleeding in the small air spaces in the lungs where carbon dioxide is dumped and oxygen is taken in. DAH can sometimes be linked to an autoimmune disease such as small-vessel vasculitis and systemic lupus erythematosus, but tests determined the woman did not have any autoimmune disorder. Furthermore, her prothrombin (blood clotting) time was also within normal limits.
Regular vaper
Doctors subsequently consulted with her husband, who told them she was a regular vaper. It was then concluded that the patient was having "vaping-induced platelet dysfunction" and she was strongly advised to quit the habit. "Given that our patient had a negative autoimmune workup, normal platelets, and a normal coagulation profile we are hypothesizing a direct correlation between platelet dysfunction and vaping," they wrote, adding, "Although our patient may have had a direct inhalational injury from vaping that led to her DAH, it does not completely explain why she was also having hematuria. There were no complications during her cesarean section nor did the patient have abdominal or uterine bleeding that would suggest otherwise." Doctors insist pregnant women must cease nicotine use entirely, despite claims by e-cigarette makers that their devices are a safer alternative to smoking.