Background
Awareness and use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) has increased significantly in the last five years, but little is known about the experiences, satisfaction, opinions and preferences of e-cigs users.
Method
1177 participants completed an online survey about their electronic cigarette preferences, of which 200 were randomly selected for analysis. The data was analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Results
Participants found the design, the ability to customize, and the quality of vapor to be the most important characteristics of the device. Participants thought the most positive aspects of e-cig use were help to quit smoking, improved overall health, and reduced cost. The negative aspects associated with use were mainly related to side effects, such as dry mouth. When asked to explain how e-cigs were used differently than cigarettes, participants reported puffing more regularly, but taking fewer puffs per session.
Conclusions
Experienced e-cig users stated that initiating e-cig use helped them to quit or reduce their conventional smoking, which they believe reduced their health risks. In comparison to cigarette smoking, e-cig users reported using their e-cig more times per day, but with fewer puffs at each use time. Users acknowledged that more research is needed to understand the safety and long-term effects of use. They mentioned dry mouth as a common side effect and common problems with reliability of e-cigs. Understanding these views may help health professionals to assess and assist e-cig users, and in the future, may help regulators to improve quality and reduce risks.
Mastocytosis is a rare disease caused by excessive production of mast cells. Clinical presentation is variable, often based on the type of mastocytosis, but in all types of mastocytosis there seems to be an increase in the risk of anaphylaxis. Systemic mastocytosis is diagnosed based on bone marrow biopsy. Treatment is variable based on the type of mastocytosis, but trigger avoidance and anaphylaxis treatment are mainstays. There are no therapies that change the natural course of mastocytosis. For cutaneous mastocytosis, treatment is conservative and aimed at symptom relief.
Fragile X Syndrome is an X-linked recessive mutation in the Fragile X Mental Retardation 1 (FMR1) gene that although more common in males, can affect females who act as carriers and present with less severe symptoms along a spectrum of phenotypes contingent on the number of CGG trinucleotide repeats. Although there are few studies on carriers in the literature, the ones present tend to showcase a minority of the potential presentations of this condition. Here we present a case of a carrier female diagnosed in her teenage years who exhibits a wide spectrum of disease manifestations, including depression, anxiety, addiction, anorexia, substance abuse and premature ovarian failure. Despite being lost to follow-up from her primary care provider and battling addiction, the patient was largely in normal health. This case demonstrates the importance of early diagnosis and intervention to prevent the associated disease manifestations and concurrent co-morbidities from worsening.
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