The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 539 patients love to dream

"Dr. Liu, can you save me?" the young man asked.

Faced with this patient, Liu Banxia was momentarily at a loss for what to answer.

"I just want to be able to go home and sleep properly." Seeing Liu Banxia remain silent, the young man looked disappointed.

"As doctors, we can’t promise patients anything," Liu Banxia said.

"Right now, I’ve only heard your description and haven’t performed any diagnosis. If I were to make any promises now, it would be deceiving you."

"Next, we will do a routine blood test and a brain CT scan. Based on the results, we’ll see what we can do. I can also admit you to the hospital; you can sleep here tonight, and that gives us a chance to observe the situation."

"Okay, thank you, Dr. Liu," the young man said gratefully.

"Xu Yino, please accompany him to handle the admission paperwork," Liu Banxia said.

This patient seemed quite cooperative, but Liu Banxia didn’t feel any sense of relief. The situation described by the patient was somewhat baffling; otherwise, he wouldn’t have decided to admit him.

"Liu Yiqing, if the patient really experiences nightmares and sleepwalking, what do you think could be the cause?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Teacher Liu, could it be organic brain damage or schizophrenia?" Liu Yiqing asked.

Liu Banxia nodded. "That’s what I was thinking too. And either of these scenarios, if proven right, wouldn’t be good news at all."

"Schizophrenia is hard to treat, and if there’s organic brain damage, it could also lead to substantial medical costs. Considering his family’s financial situation, it won’t be easy for them to bear."

"Let’s do the examinations first; we can’t say for sure at present. But we must be cautious with this patient; his situation is indeed unusual."

Liu Yiqing nodded, agreeing with his assessment.

When the patient first arrived in the treatment room, Liu Yiqing was also taken aback by his appearance. She had been worried at that time that the patient might display some extreme behavior.

"Teacher Liu, could it be caused by excessive stress?" Liu Yiqing suddenly asked.

"Excessive stress? From work?" Liu Banxia asked.

Liu Yiqing nodded. "Isn’t delivering packages tough work? Sometimes you have to climb many flights of stairs."

"That was a long time ago," Liu Banxia shook his head. "Now there are many collection points, automated parcel lockers, courier stations, and the like."

"Their stress probably isn’t as high as that of food delivery workers, right? Food delivery workers have time constraints. Moreover, the young man quit his job before the Lunar New Year."

Liu Yiqing thought for a moment and nodded; the stress factor could likely be ruled out.

"Alright, we still have to rely on the examination results. Get back to work now; another trauma patient is coming in," Liu Banxia said.

This was the advantage of having competent interns; they could efficiently handle many simple tasks, allowing him to focus elsewhere.

"What’s the situation with the patient who came looking for you?" Wei Yuan asked when he returned, having finished his meal.

"He’s undergoing a head CT scan right now; he’s been having nightmares and possibly sleepwalking," Liu Banxia stated.

"Let’s see if there’s any pathology in his brain. If we still can’t find anything, we’ll observe him overnight and do an EEG."

"This patient, well, just looking at him makes me a bit uneasy," Wei Yuan said.

"That’s actually not surprising," Liu Banxia replied with a smile. "Anyone who hasn’t eaten or slept well for such a long time would look rough."

"He’s likely been experiencing this for over a month now, and it started suddenly. I mainly suspect a brain tumor, possibly in its growth phase, pressing on a nerve."

"You’ve really made a name for yourself; you already have patients coming specifically to see you," Wei Yuan remarked. "How about it? Should we schedule your clinic hours?"

"Better not," Liu Banxia shook his head. "I’m swamped with things every day; I don’t even have control over my own schedule."

"You’re right. It seems we’ll have to wait until you’re relieved of your duties as chief resident," Wei Yuan said.

"It’s not a big deal; there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Cherish the peaceful time we have now. I estimate that as soon as everyone returns to work after the Lunar New Year, the number of accidents will increase, and we’ll be swamped again," Liu Banxia said, stretching lazily.

"Yes, we just have to grind through each day," Wei Yuan said.

"Teacher Liu, the patient’s blood test results are out; they’re normal," Xu Yino reported, walking over. "His body temperature is also normal. His blood pressure was slightly low when measured, probably due to his recent lack of rest."

"This is getting tricky; the head CT might not show anything either," Liu Banxia furrowed his brow.

"Could it really be schizophrenia?" Liu Yiqing asked, having sidled up to them at some point.

"Let’s talk to the patient after reviewing the CT results. Typically, schizophrenia has a family history component," Liu Banxia said.

They still had to wait. Fortunately, there weren’t many patients today. Night fell. After waiting for over twenty minutes, the patient’s CT results came back: negative.

"The test results so far are normal," Liu Banxia told the patient.

"However, we need to conduct further tests. Later, I’ll give you some medication to help you sleep and see if that improves your condition. We’ll also perform an electroencephalogram and monitor you continuously to see if you experience nightmares or show signs of sleepwalking."

"Dr. Liu, you still don’t believe me, do you?" the patient asked, looking at him. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Liu Banxia shook his head. "This isn’t a question of belief. When patients come for consultation, the information they provide can only be used as a reference."

"To make a diagnosis, only what we see and hear ourselves constitutes real evidence. Otherwise, if we just listened to what patients said and prescribed medication, wouldn’t that be chaotic?"

"You haven’t had a proper night’s sleep in a long time. You’re in the hospital now, and I can prescribe a sedative for you under medical advice. Let’s not use sleeping pills; if you get used to them, they can cause dependency."

"And to accommodate your situation, I’ll find an empty room for you. Before you get ready for bed, wash your face thoroughly with warm water and soak your feet."

"Actually, it’s just that the hospital doesn’t have the facilities; otherwise, I’d even suggest you take a warm bath. Have some warm milk; that also helps with sleep."

The patient smiled and nodded, his spirits visibly much improved.

"By the way, I just remembered, has anyone in your family experienced symptoms similar to yours?" Liu Banxia suddenly asked.

The young man shook his head decisively. "If there were, I wouldn’t be so worried. You’re my last hope, Doctor. If you still can’t figure it out, I’ll go home and find a master to see if I’ve provoked something unclean."

"Alright, let me give it a try. Go ahead and prepare for sleep," Liu Banxia said, nodding with a smile.

The patient left, overjoyed. He was truly looking forward to this long-awaited sleep.

DING! Task Issued: The Dreaming Patient.

Open Task: Patient suffers from insomnia. Examinations have found no organic lesions or history of schizophrenia. Further investigation required. Reward will be issued based on the diagnostic outcome.

"Your patient seems a bit distrustful, doesn’t he?" Wei Yuan asked.

Liu Banxia nodded. "That’s one of the difficulties in consultations. Some things can’t be said directly; you can only beat around the bush."

"If it were schizophrenia, his condition would likely be quite severe by now, with outward signs like auditory and visual hallucinations. But look at him now. Other than appearing somewhat listless, he shows no other symptoms. Liu Yiqing, what tests should we do tomorrow?"

"Ah... Tomorrow, tomorrow... doesn’t it depend on tonight’s results?" Liu Yiqing said, a little stunned.

"Okay, then tell me, what are the possible outcomes for tonight?" Liu Banxia said, smiling.

"Either he’ll have the symptoms he described, or he’ll get a good night’s sleep. Oh, right, tomorrow’s test can only be a lumbar puncture, then, right?" Liu Yiqing said.

"Is that so? Then we’ll listen to Dr. Liu," Liu Banxia said with a straight face.

Liu Yiqing pouted, looking a little distressed, which others found quite amusing.

"Actually, if I were to judge, I’d say the patient genuinely has these symptoms," Liu Banxia said. "Now we need to see if the medication will have any effect on this condition. A lumbar puncture is pretty much our last resort; we don’t really have other options."

"Why?" Xu Yino asked curiously.

"You silly goose, such symptoms can only be caused by neurological issues," Liu Banxia replied, laughing. "The sedative only helps him fall asleep; it’s not like general anesthesia. Remember Tang’s case? Her condition also only manifested after she fell asleep. That’s because brain activity is different when a person is awake versus asleep."

Xu Yino stuck out her tongue. I really am a dummy; how could I ask such a silly question?

"So, here’s a new question: if the lumbar puncture yields no results, what other tests can we do?" Liu Banxia continued. "The patient came here specifically for me. If I can’t solve his problem, the patient’s disappointment is a small thing, but my reputation is a big deal. What do you girls think we should do?"

"Teacher Liu, what should we do?" Liu Yiqing asked with a wry smile.

"I don’t know either. Anyway, I’m leaving it to you," Liu Banxia said, then pulled Wei Yuan aside. "Don’t you all have a group chat? Hold a little meeting, discuss it. Brother Wei, let’s not hold them up from their case discussion."

The two girls were quite vexed. He’s so petty! Just because we didn’t add him to the group chat, he’s getting back at us?

But what could they do? Liu Banxia was used to this kind of "abusing power for personal gain," suppressing them, and they couldn’t fight back.

They had to research it. Anyway, this case was indeed quite interesting and worth investigating. Maybe this was another little test from the "Great Demon King"—that was always a possibility.