Chinese woman, 26, gets sore throat after eating hotpot, dies 10 minutes after going to hospital

A Chinese woman passed away in Zhangzhou, China, ten minutes after being admitted to the hospital.

Just a day before, the 26-year-old had felt discomfort in her throat after eating spicy hotpot.

What happened

According to Chinese news outlet Morning News on Apr. 13, Zhengzhou People's Hospital reported that the woman was having spicy hotpot with her friends after working overtime, when she felt discomfort in her throat.

Thinking it might be a sore throat, she didn't think much of it and went home.

Yet the pain worsened the next morning, and the woman went to the hospital after she began having trouble breathing.

Ten minutes after being admitted to the hospital, she suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

Staff on site had attempted to save her, but it was to no avail, and she passed away soon after.

The woman was reported to have suffered from acute epiglottitis, an inflammation of the organ at the back of one's throat, which can be deadly due to its obstruction of airflow into the lungs.

Similar cases

In May 2024, a similar case happened in Zhejiang, after a man in his 30s went to the hospital for a sore throat.

The man said he took medicine after suffering from a cold for a few days, but his throat only grew more painful after the medication.

The doctor discovered that the man did not suffer from a common cold, but from acute epiglottitis and recommended that he be admitted to the hospital immediately so they could administer oxygen to him.

Yet as he was receiving treatment, the man suddenly stopped breathing. His heart also stopped.

Thankfully, he survived after hospital staff performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and an emergency tracheotomy on him.

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