The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 498 Incurable Disease (For the loneliness and emptiness 671112 addition 2/5)
"The abdominal MRI is primarily to observe the pancreas," Liu Banxia said.
"Doctor, what’s the situation now?" the patient’s mother asked.
"Currently, we still can’t determine the cause of the edema, but it has spread to the abdomen. We’re sending her for a CT scan now to see if the pancreas is inflamed," Liu Banxia explained.
"Doctor, what about medication?" the patient’s mother asked.
"At present, we still cannot determine the cause of the illness. The only medication we can provide is the antihistamine Puermin. If we use medication haphazardly, it could damage her liver and kidney functions," Liu Banxia explained patiently.
"So, you’re just going to stand by and do nothing?" the patient’s father asked, upset.
Although Liu Banxia didn’t want to disappoint them, he nodded. "If we use medication indiscriminately, it could harm the patient."
The patient’s father was angry that Liu Banxia had admitted this so openly. He was very emotional, but his better judgment told him not to hit the doctor; the doctor had to treat his child.
"What we can do now is check if the pancreas is affected. If it is, she’ll have to be transferred to the ICU," Liu Banxia said.
"At the same time, we need to monitor the patient’s electrolytes. If there’s a sudden change, we’ll need to make adjustments immediately to protect her liver and kidneys."
"Doctor, please, do whatever you need to do," the patient’s mother said, pulling her husband aside.
"I understand how you feel. We also want to diagnose her condition as soon as possible," Liu Banxia said.
"Any little change you’ve noticed in her behavior, no matter how trivial, could be important. For instance, if she used to prefer bland food and now wants it saltier or more seasoned."
"Don’t worry if the change seems small, even if it’s just a little thing. This includes any changes in the swelling of her feet. Please try to recall all of these details."
"We initially ruled out the foot edema as a primary symptom, but now that the swelling has spread to the abdominal cavity, we need to connect these developments."
After saying this, Liu Banxia left the ward.
His mood was also heavy. His instincts told him that the disease would continue to progress. If they hadn’t intubated her in advance, the patient might have died from laryngeal edema. Or, if they had managed to save her in time without prior intubation, she would still have needed an invasive intubation and a cricothyrotomy. What does it feel like for a doctor to watch a disease he hasn’t been able to diagnose unfold?
"Brother Xu, I feel like we’re missing something. Could it be a blood disorder?" Liu Banxia asked.
"It has to be a blood-related factor causing the disease to spread like this, right? I really can’t think of anything else."
"I’m really worried now. Whether the pancreas is involved has become the most critical question. Why don’t you go to their home and check again?" Xu Hui suggested with a bitter smile.
Liu Banxia shook his head helplessly. "They live a normal life; their living environment definitely isn’t that complicated. Plus, they haven’t traveled recently. It would be pointless to go."
Xu Hui nodded, acknowledging the truth in that.
He had also heard about the two pneumoconiosis patients; there were so many coincidences involved. It was precisely because of those coincidences that the original illness had changed.
"What I’m considering now is what kind of disease could cause only minor harm initially, but become so severe upon recurrence," Liu Banxia said.
"I’m wondering if it’s related to the endocrine system. Let’s run endocrine tests. Wasn’t Tang’s enuresis last time caused by an endocrine issue?"
"Even if we currently lack direct evidence linking the thyroid to enuresis, it just means it hasn’t been thoroughly researched yet."
"Alright, let’s do it," Xu Hui nodded firmly.
There really wasn’t any other option now. The endocrine system might seem like a long shot, but they had to check. What if?
Moreover, the patient’s neck was also swollen, making it impossible to determine if her thyroid was enlarged.
This patient’s illness wasn’t just tormenting her; it was tormenting Liu Banxia and Xu Hui as well.
All they could do now was wait, and waiting was often the most agonizing part. Liu Banxia kept checking the time, hoping the relevant results would come out sooner.
The first result to arrive was from the MRI. The pancreas was currently normal, which brought Liu Banxia and Xu Hui some relief.
If the current edema were complicated by pancreatitis, it would be very troublesome.
"Teacher Liu, why don’t you and Teacher Xu sit down and rest for a while?" Liu Yiqing suggested, stepping closer.
"It’s fine, standing doesn’t tire me. How’s your patient?" Liu Banxia asked.
"He’s fine, but I’m afraid that uncle is going to be sued," Liu Yiqing said.
"That is indeed troublesome, and there’s no chance of reconciliation between them," Liu Banxia nodded.
"Your performance today was excellent. You managed to truly treat everyone equally. That sounds simple, but it’s actually very difficult to achieve."
"Teacher Liu... then... then, without violating any principles, could we make him suffer a little?" Liu Yiqing asked tentatively.
"I don’t know about that," Liu Banxia shook his head.
Liu Yiqing frowned, having thought that the ever-resourceful Teacher Liu would be able to come up with a solution for her.
"Let me put it this way," Liu Banxia said seriously. "Before any of you arrived, I was mentoring Liang Xiaolin and Qing Kewa, and their debridement skills were already better than yours are now."
"Especially Qing Kewa; she’s very thorough during debridement, which is very helpful for the patient’s wound healing. This is something you all need to learn."
Liu Yiqing was stunned for a moment, then her face broke into a huge smile, like a sly fox that had just stolen a chicken. Teacher Liu is so sly, but he’s also really good. We’ll have to send Qing Kewa. This is for the sake of the patient’s wound healing, after all.
"Is that girl really that invested in that patient’s case?" Xu Hui asked curiously.
Liu Banxia nodded. "There seemed to be some special circumstances. She tried to tell me about it once, but I stopped her."
Xu Hui nodded and didn’t press further, instead continuing to wait with Liu Banxia for the endocrine test results.
Their briefly eased minds grew tense again as time wore on.
When they saw Xu Yino approaching with a lab report, frowning, they immediately surrounded her.
"Teacher Liu, Teacher Xu, this patient’s progesterone level is very high. Everything else is normal, but she isn’t pregnant," Xu Yino said.
Liu Banxia snatched the lab report and examined it carefully.
The progesterone value truly startled him; it had reached 76. Even during ovulation, this level would typically be just over 60, which is already considered very high.
He then looked at the HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, which was normal at 0.2. The other test indicators were also all within normal ranges.
"It’s a good thing we ran the endocrine panel! With her progesterone this high, what could have caused it? Could it be a manifestation of her current condition, or even the cause?" Xu Hui asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.
"Very likely," Liu Banxia nodded.
"This is the only abnormal indicator we’ve found so far. Whatever the pathological process, it must be related to this."
"The patient initially presented with edema, which we disregarded at the time. Because she also has a history of dysmenorrhea, we assumed it was related to her period."
"Now that her symptoms have progressed, we’re reconsidering that initial edema. And these current test results, with this ridiculously high progesterone, are certainly giving us a headache."
"She’s menstruating, and her progesterone is high. An endocrine issue... Huh? Xu Yino, call the patient’s boyfriend over."
Liu Banxia muttered to himself for a moment, then suddenly called out.
Xu Yino was startled. Although she didn’t know why Liu Banxia wanted the young man, she called the nurses’ station and asked them to page him.
A few minutes later, the young man ran down the stairs.
"You need to be honest with me. What kind of contraception do you and your girlfriend use?" Liu Banxia asked sternly, looking directly at the young man. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"Uh... well... she took the morning-after pill the last two times," the young man stammered, his face turning red.
"You see? I told you, you need to tell us anything that’s different. You thought of this at the time, didn’t you? But then you figured it wasn’t important, so you didn’t mention it," Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.
"Ah... this... this can cause problems too? Xiao Yu was fine the first time she took it," the young man said anxiously.
"Taking it once might not cause issues, but if it’s taken multiple times in short succession, it can very likely affect the body’s progesterone levels and cause a hormonal imbalance," Liu Banxia explained.
"I really don’t know what to say to you. But I can’t entirely blame you. You’re not doctors; you don’t know any better. You probably think that because it’s an over-the-counter drug, you can just take it casually."
"Never mind that for now, Banxia. Have you figured something out?" Xu Hui asked.
"Was the last time yesterday?" Liu Banxia didn’t answer Xu Hui, instead continuing to question the young man.
The young man blushed and nodded, his gaze shifting away from Liu Banxia. How did Liu Banxia know something so private?
"It’s my fault too. I overlooked this possibility. To be precise, I didn’t even consider this angle," Liu Banxia said.
"Hey, just tell us, what is it? How do we treat it?" Xu Hui urged, getting anxious.
"Currently, there’s no medical cure for it," Liu Banxia said seriously.
His words stunned everyone, especially the young man. A look of terror spread across his face.
