Causes and effects
As for the factors that contributed to Mr. Bauer’s initial infection, “there is a lot we don’t know, but we can try to put things together,” said Dr. Bharat. Just as many factors lined up to promote Mr. Bauer’s recovery, many factors lined up to cause the problem, including long-standing smoking and vaping. Although some still view vaping as a safer alternative to smoking, patient data and experiences do not support this claim. “We know for a fact that both of them cause harm,” he added.
Mr. Bauer started smoking cigarettes at age 21 and typically smoked a pack of cigarettes each day before switching to vaping in 2014. In addition, Mr. Bauer had not been vaccinated against the flu, and his flu infection was followed by a bacterial infection.
Bacterial infections followed by hospitalizations are not new as an effect of vaping; a series of articles described the ongoing epidemic of e-cigarette or vaping product use–associated lung injury (EVALI). Patients with EVALI often present at urgent care centers, as Bauer did, with symptoms of flu or pneumonia, and they are often given medication and sent home.
Looking ahead: “We expect that Davey will fully recover and live a normal life,” although he will remain in Chicago for another year for monitoring, said Rade Tomic, MD, pulmonologist and medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute lung transplant program, in the press conference.
Mr. Bauer expressed his thanks to the surgical team, who also presented him with another gift: a T-shirt with his newly chosen nickname, “DD Davey.” “I feel so blessed, I got a second chance at life,” Mr. Bauer said in the press conference. “You should not inhale anything into your lungs except oxygen.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.