About six hours after ingesting that massive amount of soda, the 22-year-old experienced symptoms that included a swollen stomach and severe pain and was rushed to a Beijing hospital.
A 22-year-old man has passed away following a beverage-related freak accident.
He chugged a 1.5-liter bottle of Coca-Cola to hydrate due to hot weather and had a fatal gas buildup, the New York Post said.
About six hours after ingesting that massive amount of soda, he experienced symptoms that included a swollen stomach and severe pain and was rushed to a Beijing hospital.
Although the man had no underlying health issues, doctors discovered he had an elevated heart rate, rapid breathing, and low blood pressure. A CT scan then determined atypical levels in both his intestinal walls and the portal vein that supplies the liver with blood.
“This, in turn, had reportedly caused him to suffer a hepatic ischemia, otherwise known as ‘shock liver,’ which is caused by a lack of oxygen to the organ,” The New York Post notes.
Staff tried to remedy the problem by releasing gas from the digestive system and administering medication, but they were unsuccessful, and the man died 18 hours later.
According to Professor Nathan Davies, a biochemist at University College London, the official cause of death is unknown. Still, it's highly improbable that it was due to a Coca-Cola overdose.
He suggests that the man could have died of a bacterial infection instead.
“These bacteria could’ve formed a pocket of gas in the intestinal wall, which then leaked into other parts of the body, such as the portal vein,” he told the New York Post.
More research will be done to determine the exact cause of death.
