A60-25 Evali in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: The First Colombian Case Series

Abstract Introduction In 2019, an epidemic of respiratory illness associated with e-cigarette use, named EVALI, was reported by the CDC in the United States. While the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) is a global public health concern, there are currently no published pediatric cases of EVALI reported in the Colombian literature. We present the first case series of three pediatric patients with confirmed or probable EVALI requiring admission in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Cases this is a retrospective case series of three female patients with confirmed or probable EVALI (CDC criteria) admitted to our PICU between 2022 and 2024.The median age was 16 years old, all patients were females. 2/3 Have a history of psychiatric disorders. The most frequent clinical feature was respiratory failure 3/3 followed by fever 2/3. All patients required fluids, oxygen and corticosteroids, only one required mechanical ventilation. The most common vaping compound was nicotine 3/3. All patients had bilateral round glass opacities 3/3, other radiological findings were pulmonary edema 1/3 and peripheral nodules 1/3 (Figure 1). All three patients showed clinical improvement after corticosteroids treatment and were successfully discharged from the PICU. Discussion EVALI is consolidating as a growing public health problem in Colombia. The latest national survey on psychoactive substance use from 2022 reveals a concerning reality: 22% of young people between 12 and 18 years old have used ENDS. Specifically, the survey indicates that 11.2% of students reported current use of ENDS, with the rate being slightly higher in women 11.6% than in men 10.8%. Despite this warning, there are no publicly available national statistics registering complications This is the first reported pediatric case series of EVALI in PICU in Colombia. The clinical presentation and radiologic findings in three patients are consistent with international reports. Our findings suggest that systemic corticosteroids were an effective and critical component in the treatment of severe EVALI in this cohort. This series highlights the emerging public health risk of EVALI in the pediatric population in Latin America and the need for increased clinical awareness and local reporting. This abstract is funded by: None