The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 584 Hidden Symptoms in Front of Our Eyes

Back in the main hall of the Emergency Center, Liu Banxia’s mood hadn’t lightened much.

Actually, he wasn’t afraid of medical disputes. As long as all procedures were reasonable, legal, and compliant, he truly wasn’t afraid of patients causing trouble. But today’s patient was different; his situation was somewhat unique. After all, the initial diagnosis was standard pneumonia combined with asthma, which aligned well with the indications from the test reports. However, the patient had now experienced sudden acute respiratory distress, which meant asthma could be ruled out. The only way to quell the ’anger’ in the patient’s daughter’s heart was to diagnose his true condition using minimal diagnostic tools in the shortest possible time. This wasn’t so much a medical dispute as it was the daughter’s profound worry for her father’s safety. Intubation, ICU admission, respiratory distress—for her, these things combined were nothing short of a nightmare.

"Su Wenhao, Liu Yiqing, come over here."

After pondering for a moment and seeing that Su Wenhao and Liu Yiqing weren’t busy, Liu Banxia called out to them directly.

"Teacher Liu, are we finally going into battle?" Liu Yiqing asked curiously.

Liu Banxia chuckled and nodded. "We’ll have teppanyaki for lunch, and I’ll treat you to celebratory pig’s trotters for dinner. Let’s skip the alcohol, though; we still have work to do."

Liu Yiqing grimaced. Despite having steeled his resolve, the thought of all those wailing children still gave him a headache.

"Genuine gold fears no fire. Your current skill level has actually reached the standard for graduation. This is due not only to your talent but also to the fact that you’ve encountered an exceptional mentor like me," Liu Banxia said with a straight face.

Xu Yino, who had sidled over to eavesdrop, immediately curled her lip. Girls were generally a bit bolder; people like Huang Bo and his group belonged to the category of those who dared to be angry but didn’t dare show it so openly.

"Don’t roll your eyes, Little Xu. Just count on your fingers—how many attending physicians dare to let you participate in so many surgeries? Only a daredevil like me would dare to do this," Liu Banxia said, smiling.

Xu Yino nodded; she had to admit he was right. This wasn’t just at the Second Hospital; across all hospitals in Binhai City, no interns had participated in as many surgeries as they had. Theory and practice were always two different things. Even the academic prodigies of their cohort hadn’t performed as many surgeries.

"So, you have to keep up the hard work. They’ll be the first batch. After their respective seven days, they’ll get two days of rest. The remaining four of you will automatically fill their spots," Liu Banxia continued.

"Later, those of you who are free can join me in studying a new case. The patient is currently undergoing a plain and contrast-enhanced CT scan. Then he’ll need to go back to the ICU. And if Su here is interested, he can even start his rotation today."

"Teacher Liu, really?" Su Wenhao asked.

"What’s wrong? Do you enjoy challenges that much?" Liu Banxia retorted.

"Well, since you’ve put it that way, Teacher Liu, I can’t very well back down, can I?" Su Wenhao said with a wry smile.

"That’s the spirit! You all need to learn from him. Even someone as earnest as Su Wenhao is now full of fighting spirit. You should all go find some ’chicken blood’ and give yourselves a shot," Liu Banxia said.

"Teacher Liu, what’s the situation with that patient? Aren’t we getting a bit off topic?" Miao Rui asked, exasperated.

"Don’t blame me; Su Wenhao started it," Liu Banxia said irresponsibly.

"Jokes aside, I also wanted to clear my head a bit. This patient’s case is quite vexing. He’s an internal medicine patient."

Liu Banxia then described the patient’s detailed situation to the interns, without giving them any of his own deductions. It was a completely new case for them.

The six interns, along with Qing Kewa, gathered to discuss it. The case was indeed difficult and very challenging.

"Huh? Boss, why isn’t Doctor Qi around?" Liu Banxia asked, approaching Shi Lei.

"He’s in the operating room. It’s the inguinal hernia patient admitted yesterday," Shi Lei said.

Liu Banxia nodded. "I was wondering why I hadn’t heard. Sigh... with the obstetrics department moving in, we really need to get the surgical schedule sorted out properly."

"It looks manageable for now. We haven’t been affected much; it’s mainly the inpatient wards that need to coordinate their schedules," Shi Lei explained.

"Actually, we’re not too badly off; it’s mainly Old Wang and his team who are a bit swamped. The director said they might be able to bring in another anesthesiologist for the Anesthesiology Department. That should alleviate some pressure."

"How come I didn’t know about this?" Liu Banxia scratched his scalp.

Shi Lei glanced at him. "The director didn’t tell me either; he only told Wang Lei. I heard it from him. The doctors for the inpatient department have also been arriving and starting their duties. I guess our team here will be fully staffed ahead of schedule."

"That’s great news. We’ve been quite tired lately. Especially when summer arrives, all sorts of situations will increase," Liu Banxia commented.

The sweltering weather makes people irritable. If they add some alcohol to the mix, they’re even more prone to impulsive actions.

"Teacher Liu, we haven’t reached a definitive conclusion yet. Asthma and allergies can be ruled out. Does the patient have a history of head trauma? Could it be due to neurological reasons?" Li Hao asked.

Liu Banxia shook his head. "He was coughing a bit upon admission, but his articulation was normal. Moreover, whether it was a hematoma or edema, the patient would also have exhibited signs of head discomfort."

"I’ll add one more thing: Xu Hui also made relevant inquiries during the initial consultation. Coughing, fever, flu-like symptoms, and recently, becoming easily fatigued from work, which improved with rest."

"Furthermore, the patient has no underlying medical conditions. That’s why Doctor Xu, after his initial examination, gave a diagnosis of pneumonia and asthma. It was only after the patient experienced acute respiratory distress this morning that a possible missed diagnosis was suspected."

The interns nodded and huddled together again to discuss.

"Boss, keep an eye on things here for a bit. I’m taking them to the CT room. I also need to chat with the patient’s daughter again. Given the current situation, there must be some manifestations we haven’t noticed," Liu Banxia said after some thought.

Shi Lei nodded. Having worked together for so long, he naturally knew Liu Banxia’s "quirk"—when faced with such a complex case, if Liu Banxia didn’t figure it out completely, he probably wouldn’t sleep well at night.

When the group arrived outside the CT room, the patient’s daughter shot Liu Banxia a hostile look.

"I still need to ask you for more details. During this period, did your father exhibit any other unusual behaviors?" Liu Banxia asked.

The patient’s daughter shook her head. "Besides not being in very good spirits, nothing much else. My mother passed away last year. Since then, it’s just been the two of us for the New Year."

As she finished speaking, tears streamed down her face.

Liu Banxia sighed inwardly. He understood why she was so emotional. After the recent pain of losing her mother, if her father were to have another serious problem, it would be like taking her own life.

"Xu Yino, please get some water. The CT scan will still take a while. Let’s sit and chat. I still feel your father’s condition is quite complex. There must be another illness hidden beneath the current symptoms," Liu Banxia said.

"But my dad really hasn’t had any other symptoms. He had a cold before the New Year, but that was a long time ago. Then, during the New Year period, he was probably missing my mom, so his spirits weren’t very good," the patient’s daughter said.

"Oh, right! Not long after that cold, he started coughing a bit. But it was just a simple cough, not severe. It only became severe this week, and he also developed a bit of a fever."

"Please try not to worry too much. You saw just now, we have so many doctors consulting on his case. We will definitely do our utmost to diagnose your father’s illness," Liu Banxia comforted her.

"However, based on my experience, there might still be some things we’ve overlooked. Has your father complained about anything?"

The patient’s daughter shook her head. "Since my mom passed away, he’s become much quieter. I was even planning to buy a pet after the New Year to keep him company; otherwise, I’m busy with work too."

Liu Banxia started to feel troubled. This situation was really becoming a bit tricky. While he could understand the feelings of the father and daughter, this information wasn’t helpful for the diagnosis. All they could do now was wait and pin all their hopes on the CT results.

But, as things often don’t go as planned, when the CT results came out, everything was normal.

"Doctor, is my father just suffering from simple asthma? Are you doctors perhaps overthinking things?" the patient’s daughter asked.

"Although I also wish that were the case, for asthma patients, medication should bring rapid improvement, not make the condition worse," Liu Banxia said, frowning.

"What should we do next?" Xu Guosheng asked, also frowning.

"Let’s calm down first. We’ll observe him a bit more, and then we’ll continue the consultation," Liu Banxia said.

"Please rest assured. I said it, and I’ll do it. Your father’s condition is currently quite complex, but we will definitely do our best to understand it thoroughly."

The patient’s daughter nodded, wiped away her tears, and grasped her father’s hand.

Actually, she also knew that simple asthma wouldn’t become so severe. But for her, at this moment, she could only hold onto such a hope.

Liu Banxia frowned slightly but said nothing.

He felt that the patient’s current state was a bit off, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong. It was like having words on the tip of his tongue, only to forget them suddenly.

His mind raced, meticulously going over the patient’s situation once more. Promises aren’t made lightly. Since he said he would do his utmost, he absolutely had to deliver.

Seeing the patient lying on the gurney, the interns also felt a sense of unease. The crucial thing was, they currently had no leads and no idea where to begin.

"You’ll need to wait outside," Liu Banxia said as they arrived at the ICU entrance.

The patient’s daughter nodded and released her father’s hand.

Seeing the patient’s hand weakly lift, Liu Banxia’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Wasn’t this the very symptom hidden right under everyone’s noses? No wonder he’d had that strange feeling. He had been so foolishly searching and asking around. He’d been careless.