A viral video has brought attention to the bizarre case of a New England student who had both legs amputated after he ate leftovers.
According to a March 2021 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine, the 19-year-old was admitted to the pediatric intensive-care unit (PICU), Massachusetts General Hospital, as a result of “shock multiple organ failure and rash.”
YouTube channel “Chubbyemu”, run by Dr. Bernard Hsu (a licensed toxicologist), posted a video about the case on February 16. Since then, it has been viewed almost 1 million times.
A 19-year old man named “JC” was filmed feeling nausea and abdominal pain after eating leftover rice, chicken and lo mein from a restaurant.
According to the journal, he experienced vomiting, chills, generalized weakness and chest pain. He also had shortness of breath, neck stiffness and blurry vision. His skin began to turn a purple color a few hours prior to his admission.
He was staying with a friend, who took him to the emergency room. From there, he was flown by helicopter to a local hospital. According to the friend, he had eaten the same food and vomited, but didn’t become more ill.
The temperature of the man was 105 degrees, and his heart rate was 166 beats per hour. After being admitted to the hospital, his breathing became worsened and he was administered oxygen.
The man was diagnosed with Neisseria meningitidis based on blood and urine tests. Dr. Bernard explained that bacteria can cause blood vessels to dilate and drop blood pressure, which in turn prevents oxygen from reaching the organs.
The man was admitted to a long hospitalization that resulted in complications including necrosis of his arms and legs, gangrene and the need for amputations of some of his 10 fingers below his knees.
Later, doctors discovered that he had not received a booster shot for the meningococcal conjugate vaccine at 16 years old. Doctors said that he had made a good recovery despite the amputations.
