How eating leftover noodles led to finger, leg amputation?

The case of a 19-year-old boy from New England suffering multiple amputations after eating leftover noodles has come under the spotlight in the past two days.

The case was originally documented in March 2021, in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), but has recently gained popularity after being illustrated in a fictional portrayal on YouTube.

According to the NEJM report, the man was unharmed until about 20 hours after eating lo mein noodles leftover meal from a restaurant. But shortly, he developed abdominal pain, nausea and experienced symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, blurry vision and started vomiting.

“Multiple episodes of emesis occurred, with vomitus that was either bilious or red-brown. 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,” the report said.

According to the report the boy also experienced purplish discolouration of the skin and was eventually taken to the ICU at Massachusetts General Hospital. The man was treated for shock, organ failure, skin mottling and a “rapidly progressive reticular rash” at Massachusetts General Hospital.

His blood and urine tests revealed that he had a bacterial infection: Neisseria meningitidis. The bacteria had made its way to his bloodstream, causing problems including “purpura fulminans.” Having purpura fulminans is said to be a life-threatening emergency.

This infection forms blood clots throughout your body which can block circulation to different areas of your skin, resulting in purplish areas of skin death which spread over time. These clots can also block blood circulation to your arms, legs, feet, toes, and fingers, starving them of oxygen and leading to the death of their tissue. It can also cut off blood flow to your major organs such as the liver, lungs, heart, and kidneys. Eventually, your entire blood circulatory system can collapse.

Doctors, after being left with no other option, had to amputate different parts of the 19-year-old’s fingers and both of his legs below his knees.

The boy lost his legs and parts of his fingers but he did survive the ordeal and apparently has been recovering from the awful experience.