A teenager died after binge drinking cocktails, shot and beers with friends, an inquest into his death has been told.
A coroner and pathologist issuing a stark warning about the dangers of over-consumption of alcohol after the 19-year-old man, who wasn’t a regular drinker, died after slipping into a coma.
The man passed away surrounded at Cork University Hospital (CUH) on September 16, 2022. Four days earlier, he had gone to a sports club with friends, where they had two or three beers each.
State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster gave evidence in relation to the cause of death of the young man at an inquest in Cork city on Thursday, reports CorkBeo.
The inquest was told the group then went to a fast food drive-thru at about 11.30pm and ate chicken nuggets before going back to one of their homes. Once back, they drank cocktails and did shots while playing the card game pontoon.
One friends giving evidence said whenever a player went bust, they took a shot of Tia Maria and Baileys (baby Guinness), whiskey, and vodka Apple Sourz.
The man was put to bed on his side, after becoming "quite drunk". They never left him alone, although they said they had no reason to believe he was ill or in danger.
They later became aware he was having difficulty breathing and rushed him to hospital by car.
The deceased was snoring heavily in the hours before his breathing became faint, the inquest heard, however, he wasn’t vomiting and there were no sign of medical difficulties.
Dr Bolster said that snoring after drinking large amounts of alcohol was a typical sign of depression of the central nervous system, while snoring was “indicative of him lapsing into a coma".
The doctor recorded a blood alcohol level of 275mg per litre during his post mortem. However, as he stopped drinking hours before he worsened she said it had probably been as high as 300mg per litre.
She said: “Over 300 mg causes very significant depression of the brain stem. The definition of binge drinking is over 80 mg (per litre).
"Binge drinking is five drinks in a male and four drinks in a female. There is a dangerous increasing pattern (of binge drinking) now. It (binge drinking) impacts on every organ in the body.”
The medic said that the body can process only one unit of alcohol per hour, while binge drinking can damage the white matter of the brain whilst also leading to death in certain cases.
Binge drinking can cause “holiday heart syndrome", where people develop cardiac arrhythmia and die after consuming a large volume of alcohol.
Doctor Bolster said binge drinking is usually fatal at around the 400mg-per-litre mark - but can occur at lower levels in unexperienced drinkers.
She reassured the family of the deceased that their son would not have suffered, and there were no drugs involved. The youth simply lapsed into a coma, and had not vomited.
The drinking had caused respiratory arrest and cardiac arrest in addition to aspiration pneumonia.
Meanwhile, Coroner Philip Comyn praised the family for making the “difficult decision” to donate the young man's organs.
He said the lives of people waiting for a transplant had been transformed, after his heart, lungs, liver and kidneys were donated.
Mr Comyn said that the death was an “unfortunate tragedy” which happened when a few young friends went on a “night out for a bit of fun", while commending the group of friends for trying their best to save the deceased.
Discussing the dangers of binge drinking, he added: “It can lead to tragedy such as this and it can do long-term damage to your health. We have the second-highest level of binge drinking in the world. Second to Australia. It is a pattern that seems to be increasing. It is something that people need to be aware of and the consequences of it.”
The inquest heard testimony from the group of friends, one who said they were shocked, while another went to church to light a candle in his honour.
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