Elsevier

Medical Hypotheses

Volume 109, November 2017, Pages 17-18
Medical Hypotheses

Resolution of recurrent tonsillitis in a non-smoker who became a vaper. A case study and new hypothesis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2017.09.006Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

Evidence concerning the impact of vaping on respiratory infections remains contradictory. Cell and animal studies suggested that vaping may increase vulnerability to respiratory infections, but human data do not confirm this concern.

Case presentation

We present a case of a never-smoker who became a vaper and after a few months of e-cigarette use experienced a complete resolution of chronic tonsillitis and a marked improvement in tonsilloliths.

Conclusions

As this is a never-smoker, the improvements cannot be attributed to smoking cessation. One possible explanation is that the improvement was due to antimicrobial properties of propylene glycol. The hypothesis could be tested by a trial of zero-nicotine e-cigarettes in patients with recurrent bacterial throat infection.

Section snippets

Background

Unlike conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes (EC) deliver no combustion chemicals and are therefore considered to be much safer [1]. Vaping may however still pose a degree of risk due to other chemicals present in e-liquid and due to their thermal degradation.

One of the effects of vaping where there is contradictory evidence concerns the impact on respiratory infections. Cell and animal studies [2], [3] suggested that vaping may increase vulnerability to respiratory infections, but human data

Case presentation

During an on-line survey of vapers [9], an unusual report was noticed from a non-smoker who became a daily vaper. The person (LM) agreed to be contacted and we followed her up over several weeks and elicited the following details.

LM is a 26-year old computer scientist. She is overall in good health, but suffered from ear infections in childhood and had two episodes of severe otitis media and an eardrum rapture in adulthood.

Her main health problem are frequent episodes of tonsillitis that

Discussion and conclusions

The present case study is of particular interest because LM is a non-smoker. Smoking increases susceptibility to respiratory infections [11] and so a similar recovery in a smoker who switched to vaping could be ascribed to smoking cessation.

No bacteriological examination was performed and case studies of course can not exclude coincidences and spontaneous improvements, but the reported case does generate a tentative hypothesis and research question.

There is a possibility is that propylene

Competing interests

Neither of the authors declare any conflict of interest.

Funding

The authors are university employees. The report required no external funding.

Authors' contributions

JAM collected data. JAM and PH co-wrote the manuscript.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr Bernd Mayer for alerting us to LM’s experience, and to LM for answering our queries.

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