Doctors have issued a warning against getting too drunk at summer parties this year after treating a man who fainted from alcohol poisoning and fell into a coma.
The 31-year-old patient drank an entire 500ml bottle of tequila and two shots of shochu, a type of strong Japanese liquor, while partying at a nightclub in Izunokuni, Japan.
He collapsed and was rushed to hospital, where tests showed he was in a “deep coma” and had a dangerous amount of fluid in his lungs.
Doctors put him on a respirator to prevent him from choking on the liquid, which they suspect was vomit he had choked on.
A 31-year-old man drank the equivalent of 11 shots and two cups of a Japanese liquor called shochu (broth).
Chest CT showed blurry spots and shadowed areas in the posterior parts of both lungs, with more significant findings on the left side. This indicates fluid buildup in the lungs.
The patient was a nightclub owner but was otherwise healthy and non-alcoholic.
After being transported to the hospital, he was given a score of E1V1M1 on the Glasgow Coma Scale, used to measure a person’s level of consciousness after a head injury.
The score meant that he did not open his eyes even when stimulated, did not speak, did not moan or make any sound, and did not move his limbs or any part of his body in response to commands or painful stimuli such as a pinch.
His blood pressure and heart rate were normal, but he was in respiratory distress and suffering from hypothermia.
Her tongue was also obstructing her airway and crackling sounds could be heard coming from her lungs, indicating there was fluid there.
This was probably because he vomited while unconscious, causing stomach contents to leak into his lungs.
Doctors who treated the man at Juntendo Hospital Shizuoka in Japan said: ‘The main life-threatening consequence of acute poisoning with high blood alcohol concentrations is respiratory depression.
‘Under these conditions, intoxication also reduces airway sensitivity and reflex blockage of foreign bodies, increasing the risk of aspiration.’
On the second day, he regained consciousness and his lung function improved, allowing doctors to remove the breathing tube.
He was discharged from the hospital on the third day.
The case report was published in the American Journal of Medical Case Reports.
The patient drank 500 ml and two glasses of liquor, which is approximately equivalent to 13 shots of spirits.
The CDC recommends that people take no more than one dose per day, or one beer or wine.
Alcohol is considered the most abused drug in existence. with 16.3 million American adults reporting excessive alcohol consumption during the previous month.
About one in five adults say they sometimes drink more than they think they should. This is more common in men than women.
Americans drink the same amount today as they did during the Civil War: about 2.5 gallons a year on average. That’s up from 2.15 gallons in 1995 and 2.3 gallons at the end of World War II.
After years of hearing that drinking red wine in moderation — about one glass a night with dinner — had significant heart health benefits, the public is just now discovering that’s not the case.
Researchers have found that previous evidence supporting that claim is weak and has only been documented in observational studies, meaning other factors could be at play.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said no amount of alcohol is safe or healthy.
A UK study found that even Britons classified as low-risk drinkers had an 11 percent higher risk of dying from cancer compared with “occasional drinkers.”
People in the poorest areas had it even harder: They had a 25 percent higher risk of dying from cancer and a 14 percent higher risk of dying overall.