According to experts, the man died of severe liver damage. And it is highly unlikely that Coca-Cola was the cause, it was simply a trigger for an existing condition.
Photo: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP / Getty Images
There is no doubt that there are news that go around the world. According to the medical report of Clinics and Research in Hepatology and Gastroenterology, A man in China died as a result of drinking a 1.5-liter bottle of Coca-Cola in 10 minutes. Among the most relevant points of this terrible story, it is worth noting that it was a 22-year-old young man with no apparent underlying conditions. The deceased reported to the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital emergency department, after severe pain and swelling in the upper abdomen, which had lasted approximately four hours. Upon inspection, the doctors determined the following data from his medical history: an elevated heart rate of 130 beats per minute, low blood pressure, and a respiratory rate of only 32 times per minute.
A CT scan showed that there was a accumulation of gas in the portal vein, an “ominous radiological sign” that indicates serious gastrointestinal problems, as well as gas cysts in the wall of your intestines. The scan also showed that his liver was not getting enough blood and oxygen, due to the accumulation of gas in the portal vein, which carries blood from the gastrointestinal tract, gallbladder, pancreas and spleen to the liver.
When questioned, the young man revealed that six hours earlier he had consumed a whole 1.5 liter bottle of coke due to the heat, shortly before the onset of your symptoms. As part of the measures, the medical team tried to relieve pressure from the man’s intestines, as well as treat inflammation and give him fluids. Unfortunately, this was ultimately not enough to save him. Lack of oxygen to the liver resulted in severe liver damage, which only got worse.
As part of the treatment, they gave him medications to protect the liver and stabilize other bodily functions from further deterioration, but even after 12 hours, blood test results showed severe liver damage. The man’s condition worsened further, leading to his death after 18 hours of treatment.
According to the report drawn up by the medical team responsible for the emergency:
“Pneumatosis of the portal vein is a rare clinical sign, also known as a sign of death, and can be seen widely in patients with abdominal infection and intestinal hypertension.”
Among the possible explanations for the case, experts suggest that drinking a large amount of Coca-Cola in a short period of time, initially caused a accumulation of gas in the intestinal tract. Subsequently, the intestinal pressure rose suddenly and this resulted in the high pressure and led to the accumulation of gas in the portal vein.
The truth is that the news has gone around the world and some experts have spoken about it, such is the case of the statements of the biochemist professor at University College London Nathan Davies. Who believes that although the accumulation of gas in the portal vein can cause problems of this type and even lead to death: considers that there was another underlying cause at play. According to his comments in an interview for Daily Mail:
“The chances that a regular 1.5 liter shot soda, or a little over three pints, would be fatal would be very, very unlikely, I mean, staggeringly unlikely. Usually this type of condition is because you have bacteria that have made their way from the normal gastrointestinal tract to some place where they are not supposed to be, in this case, in the lining of the small intestine. “
Therefore according to doctors and experts, it is very likely that a bacterial infection was the cause of death. While drinking large amounts of any soda is one of the worst eating habits out there, the reality is that it is not an immediate cause of death. According to Davies: “If the Cola bottle were the sole cause of death, we would see many more such deaths around the world. It is possible, but not necessarily that likely, that drinking a large amount of carbonated beverage may have had an aggravating effect.
To end his statements Davies, he admitted that drinking 1.5 liters of Coke may have exacerbated gas buildup, but believes that it is unlikely to be related to the cause of death. He added that more information on the man’s health status than the report was provided is needed to draw accurate conclusions.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.