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Doctors report deadly consequences of eating leftover takeaway

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After eating a leftover takeaway, a 19-year-old student lost both legs and parts of all ten fingers, and developed fatal sepsis.

His friend had ordered takeaway the night before, which included chicken, rice, and a noodle dish. He fell ill almost immediately, with abdominal discomfort and vomiting. Chills, weakness, shortness of breath, cloudy vision, and chest pain were among the other concerning symptoms he experienced. In addition, the student got “purplish discoloration of the skin.”

His friend drove him to the emergency room, where he was checked and sedated by doctors.

He arrived at the hospital with a fever and a heart rate of 166 BPM.

“Diffuse abdominal pain and nausea developed after he ate rice, chicken, and lo mein leftovers from a restaurant meal,” according to the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

“The abdominal pain and vomiting were followed by the development of chills, generalized weakness, progressively worsening diffuse myalgias, chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, neck stiffness, and blurry vision.

Doctors report deadly consequences of eating leftover takeaway

“Five hours before this admission, purplish discolouration of the skin developed, and a friend took the patient to the emergency department of another hospital for evaluation.”

His condition deteriorated while he was in the hospital, and he was airlifted to another hospital’s intensive care unit, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.

During a checkup, the doctor found that he had Purpura fulminans caused by meningococcal disease, which causes skin necrosis and can “quickly” lead to multiple organ failure.

As a result of his condition, the 19-year-old had both of his legs amputated below the knee, as well as sections of all of his fingers amputated.

The NEJM added: “This patient had a prolonged hospital course with many complications of fulminant meningococcemia, including necrosis of the arms and legs and gangrene, which led to amputations of parts of all 10 fingers and bilateral below-knee amputations.”

The young man worked part-time at a restaurant while living in New England with his mother, brother, and three cats.

When the incident occurred, he was staying with a friend for the week.

The night before, his friend had eaten the same takeaway.

While it made him feel a little queasy, he didn’t have the same level of discomfort.

According to the NEJM, the 19-year-old had no allergies and had received all of his childhood vaccines.

He had, however, forgotten to have his meningococcal vaccine booster shot, which is usually given at the age of 16.

He drank little alcohol, smoked two packs of cigarettes every week, and smoked pot daily.

The man had not recently traveled abroad or had any exceptional exposure to animals or ill people, according to the NEJM.

Image Credit: Getty

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