Characteristics of exposures to electronic nicotine delivery systems, symptoms and care trajectories, by age group
| Characteristic | Age group, yr; no. (%) of people | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≤ 4 n = 81 | 5–14 n = 7 | 15–19 n = 18 | 20–24 n = 7 | ≥ 25 n = 31 | Unknown n = 42 | Total n = 186 | |
| Cause of exposure | |||||||
| Accidental access* | 77 (95) | 4 (57) | 2 (11) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (5) | 85 (45.7) |
| Handling device† | 0 (0) | 1 (14) | 3 (17) | 1 (14) | 1 (3) | 4 (10) | 10 (5.4) |
| Intentional inappropriate use | 0 (0) | 1 (14) | 1 (6) | 1 (14) | 2 (6) | 2 (5) | 7 (3.8) |
| Making e-juice | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.5) |
| E-cigarette malfunction | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 2 (11) | 0 (0) | 7 (23) | 7 (17) | 17 (9.1) |
| Mistaken identity‡ | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (14) | 4 (13) | 6 (14) | 12 (6.4) |
| Spill | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 1 (6) | 2 (29) | 4 (13) | 5 (12) | 13 (7.0) |
| Usual e-cigarette use | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 7 (39) | 1 (14) | 10 (32) | 7 (17) | 25 (13.4) |
| Other/not recorded | 1 (1) | 1 (14) | 2 (11) | 1 (14) | 2 (6) | 9 (21) | 16 (8.6) |
| Vehicle of exposure | |||||||
| E-cigarette device | 19 (23) | 0 (0) | 12 (67) | 3 (43) | 19 (61) | 21 (50) | 74 (39.8) |
| E-cigarette cartridge | 11 (14) | 1 (14) | 1 (6) | 1 (14) | 1 (3) | 2 (5) | 17 (9.1) |
| Bottled e-juice | 50 (62) | 6 (86) | 5 (28) | 3 (43) | 11 (35) | 18 (43) | 93 (50.0) |
| Other/not recorded | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (2) | 2 (1.1) |
| Route of exposure§ | |||||||
| Dermal | 6 (7) | 1 (14) | 2 (11) | 2 (29) | 4 (13) | 7 (17) | 22 (11.8) |
| Ingestion | 72 (89) | 6 (86) | 8 (44) | 4 (57) | 14 (45) | 18 (43) | 122 (65.6) |
| Inhalation | 2 (2) | 0 (0) | 8 (44) | 1 (14) | 10 (32) | 7 (17) | 28 (15.0) |
| Nasal | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.5) |
| Ocular | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (6) | 9 (21) | 12 (6.4) |
| Vaginal | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (2) | 1 (0.5) |
| Symptoms present¶ | |||||||
| Yes | 9 (11) | 3 (43) | 16 (89) | 4 (57) | 27 (87) | 28 (67) | 87 (46.8) |
| No | 54 (67) | 4 (57) | 1 (6) | 2 (29) | 2 (6) | 7 (17) | 70 (37.6) |
| Not recorded | 18 (22) | 0 (0) | 1 (6) | 1 (14) | 2 (6) | 7 (17) | 29 (15.6) |
| Care trajectory | |||||||
| Managed outside of health care facility** | 50 (62) | 6 (86) | 12 (67) | 6 (86) | 24 (77) | 33 (79) | 131 (70.4) |
| Treated/evaluated at health care facility and released | 22 (27) | 0 (0) | 2 (11) | 0 (0) | 5 (16) | 3 (7) | 32 (17.2) |
| Admitted to noncritical care unit | 2 (2) | 1 (14) | 2 (11) | 1 (14) | 1 (3) | 1 (2) | 8 (4.3) |
| Admitted to critical care unit | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.5) |
| Lost to follow-up | 6 (7) | 0 (0) | 2 (11) | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | 5 (12) | 14 (7.5) |
Note: e-cigarette = electronic cigarette.
↵* Accidental acquisition of electronic nicotine delivery system or associated paraphernalia by a person (usually a child) who is not the intended user and subsequent use without the intention of causing harm.
↵† Includes cleaning, refilling or otherwise manipulating electronic nicotine delivery system and cartridges.
↵‡ E-juice mistaken for another substance (e.g., eyedrops), frequently housed in a similar container.
↵§ Cases with multiple routes of exposure were counted in all applicable categories.
↵¶ Excludes coingestions as these substances may have contributed to symptomatology.
↵** Includes during emergency transportation.