Case 1
A 16-year-old white male presented with 4 days of fevers to 38.7°C (101.4°F), nausea, severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, cough, and dyspnea. He denied any known exposure to COVID-19 infected individuals. He was admitted due to his tachypnea and concerns of MIS-C. Shortly after admission, he developed worsening tachypnea and hypoxia, along with difficulty breathing on nasal cannula requiring transitioning to high flow nasal cannula oxygen on second day of admission. Laboratory workup was remarkable for lymphopenia, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), ferritin, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Chest X-Ray showed bibasilar interstitial infiltrates. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed bilateral multifocal ground-glass opacities (Figure 1). Nasopharyngeal (NP) SARS-CoV-2 PCR and serum antibodies were negative twice. FilmArray® respiratory panel (FRVP) (Biofire Defense, Salt Lake City, Utah) was negative. He remained febrile, with ongoing respiratory distress despite empiric therapy with ceftriaxone and azithromycin. He later disclosed vaping every week with products obtained from his friends. Urine drug screen was positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Intravenous steroids were started due to suspected EVALI. He was weaned to room air within 48 hours, his infiltrates improved on repeat chest X-ray. He was discharged after 8 days of hospital stay.