The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 798: Patients with Severe Jaundice

Although the official decision was still some days away, everyone at the emergency center was nevertheless quite excited.

The reason was simple. Even though Liu Banxia was strict in his management and sometimes a bit prickly, he genuinely cared for everyone.

His role as chief resident was special due to the emergency center's unique nature, and this, in turn, shaped his distinct working style. He ended up managing everything, whether it officially fell under his purview or not.

For instance, Zhou Shuwen never had to worry about the emergency center's entire patient reception process. His own daily work simply consisted of meetings, clinic hours, and surgeries, and that was it.

This alone was a testament to Liu Banxia's capabilities.

Otherwise, even with his significant authority and being Zhou Shuwen's disciple, he couldn't have held onto his position if he acted unfairly. After all, there was never a shortage of people with strong backing.

It was a case of 'better the devil you know.' Besides, once Liu Banxia became deputy director, he wouldn't be primarily in charge of operations—that would definitely be Chen Xuehai's responsibility. So, everyone figured their comfortable routines would continue beautifully.

Although Liu Banxia had also advised everyone to discuss the matter as little as possible, the staff at the emergency center would still chat about it whenever they had free time.

After all, this had always been a widely discussed topic, and now that it seemed truly confirmed, everyone firmly believed Liu Banxia's promotion to deputy director was a sure thing.

When Xu Qixin heard this news, he felt somewhat disheartened. The rumors were proving accurate, and even Shen Liqun had told him it was now a matter of doing his best and leaving the rest to fate.

On one level, this advice encouraged perseverance and maintaining a fighting spirit. But for Xu Qixin, the man directly involved, he knew this 'move' of his had been a mistake.

Having been there for a few days, he naturally understood that Liu Banxia was no ordinary chief resident in the emergency center. Witnessing the sheer number of consecutive surgeries Liu Banxia handled, Xu Qixin, despite also being a chief physician, knew he himself couldn't manage such a feat.

His own energy was focused on plastic surgery, essentially making him a second-line combatant, truly incomparable to those fighting on the front lines.

But even so, he couldn't help but feel a little resentful.

Best not to dwell on it, Xu Qixin thought. I should just focus my limited energy on the endless stream of surgeries. Besides, nothing is official yet; there's still a chance.

"President Liu, car accident victims. Three injured, one critically."

Liu Banxia had just returned from pediatrics when the dispatch nurse called out.

"Doctor Qi, car accident victims. Three injured, one critical. You take the lead on this," Liu Banxia yelled back.

"Okay. Huang Bo, Xu Yino, Su Wenhao, prepare to receive patients. I, Wang Chao, and Shi Lei will follow up. President Liu, you're on mobile standby," Qi Wentai responded.

Hearing him, everyone sprang into action.

Everyone understood this was Liu Banxia giving Qi Wentai a chance to get accustomed to managing triage ahead of time. Otherwise, Qi Wentai might be overwhelmed when Liu Banxia officially stepped down from his current duties.

After waiting for a little while, the first patient was brought in.

"Blood pressure 60/90, heart rate 120, right-sided depressed skull fracture, severe facial lacerations. Lost consciousness at the scene; blood and fluids administered in the ambulance," the paramedic reported.

"Huang Bo, Shi Lei, take this patient. Call neurosurgery over," Qi Wentai directed.

This patient's injuries were critical; the chances of successful resuscitation appeared extremely low.

"Resuscitation Room One! Transfer to the gurney and get a portable X-ray, stat!" Huang Bo said, pushing the patient.

"Male, 29 years old, vital signs stable, forehead laceration. Suspected cervical spine fracture, stabilized on scene," the paramedic from the second ambulance reported.

"Xu Yino, Wang Chao, take this patient," Qi Wentai directed.

"Resuscitation Room Two," Xu Yino announced.

"Chest injury from seatbelt compression, no sensation in lower limbs. Vitals stabilized in the ambulance after oxygen administration," the paramedic from the third ambulance reported.

"Come with me, Resuscitation Room Three. Call an orthopedic surgeon. President Liu, you handle things out here," Qi Wentai ordered.

Liu Banxia nodded, then turned to the interns. "What are you all waiting for? This is an invaluable internship opportunity. If your names weren't called, you need to seize the chance yourselves. Just don't interfere with the resuscitation efforts."

Hearing him, Xu Zhenkai and the others quickly followed, running towards the resuscitation room.

"Quite a brutal crash," Liu Banxia commented. "Was anyone else injured?"

"The first two were the front passenger and driver of the lead car. The one with the skull fracture wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was thrown through the windshield when they were rear-ended," the paramedic explained.

"Were their families contacted while they were in the ambulance?" Liu Banxia asked further.

The paramedic nodded. "Yes, all contacted. They're on their way. But the first patient's condition is probably not good; he's too severely injured."

"Indeed. With the skull caved in like that, it definitely caused compression on the brain tissue," Liu Banxia remarked.

He had barely finished speaking when he saw Shi Lei and Huang Bo emerge from Resuscitation Room One. They caught his eye and shook their heads grimly.

"Officer Ma, please take the report. Why are you standing so far away?" Liu Banxia said, looking at Ma Limin, who was standing by the doorway.

"Ah..." Ma Limin sighed. "I thought there was still a chance to save him. I was even clearing the way up front."

"His injuries were too severe. Even if he'd been brought here sooner, it would have been a long shot," Liu Banxia said.

"That's why seatbelts are so important. Although a seatbelt might cause chest bruising in an accident, it can genuinely save your life."

"But for the car to be wrecked like this, they must have been going very fast, right? A typical road collision wouldn't usually eject someone from the vehicle like that."

"The front car slammed on its brakes for a pedestrian, but the driver of the car behind was distracted and didn't brake in time. It was probably a freak combination of forces that ejected the man. As for the pedestrian? Unharmed. They just ran off. We're reviewing the surveillance footage now," Ma Limin said.

Liu Banxia was speechless. To think someone could cause such a major accident and then just run off.

"Teacher Liu, a patient is being brought in now, unconscious in the ambulance!" the dispatcher called out again at that moment.

"Alright, I'll take this one. Li Hao, you're with me," Liu Banxia nodded.

They had to rotate duties. Although the 'six little ones,' as they were known, were now capable of handling patients independently, it was still better not to let them attempt such critical cases too readily.

After a few minutes, the ambulance stopped at the entrance of the emergency center.

"What's the situation?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Still not entirely clear. Male, twenty-five years old. Found unconscious, oxygen administered. Severe jaundice. Blood pressure 70/100, heart rate 110," the paramedic reported, pulling the patient from the ambulance.

Liu Banxia was taken aback. The jaundice was incredibly severe; the patient's entire face and neck were a shocking yellow.

"How could it get this severe without him coming to the hospital sooner? Take him to Resuscitation Room Four, just in case," Liu Banxia said to the person who had accompanied the patient. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I noticed he hadn't shown up for work for a few days, so I went to his place to look for him. That's when I found him like this. He said he'd been feeling unwell these past few days," the companion said.

Liu Banxia sighed. His liver must be in serious trouble.

"Alright, on three, transfer. One, two, three! Connect the EKG, run a complete blood count, liver and kidney function tests, and schedule a CT. Young man, please help contact his family. His condition is quite critical right now."

The person who came with him nodded quickly. "I've already contacted them, but his family is from out of town. I don't know when they'll arrive. I'll ask again."

Liu Banxia first auscultated the patient's heart and lungs. For the moment, they sounded within acceptable limits.

"Bring the portable ultrasound over. Let me see if there's an issue with his liver or gallbladder," Liu Banxia said after putting away his stethoscope.

After applying the couplant, Liu Banxia carefully scanned the patient's abdomen with the ultrasound probe. His eyebrows furrowed slightly; the image showed no apparent abnormalities within the abdominal cavity.

"Teacher Liu, his temperature is a bit high, 38.5 degrees Celsius," Li Hao reported.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Tell the lab to expedite the results. Get him an abdominal CT; his liver might be the problem. The gallbladder seems fine."

"Okay," Li Hao acknowledged.

"Wait."

Just as Li Hao was about to wheel the patient away, Liu Banxia called out again. He then moved to the patient's head for a closer look.

The patient's nostrils were slightly red and swollen, a detail Liu Banxia hadn't noticed when they first wheeled him in.

"Alright, take him for the CT scan now. Thanks for the trouble," Liu Banxia said with a wave of his hand.

"Teacher Liu, what do you think it could be?" asked Liu Yiqing, who had followed them in to see what was happening.

"It might be drug-induced liver failure," Liu Banxia said.

"The patient's nostrils are red and swollen on both sides, probably from wiping his nose. That, combined with the fever... ask his friend about it."

Liu Yiqing was stunned. Drug-induced liver failure? Just how much medication would someone have to take for that to happen?

"Young man, have you managed to reach his family?" Liu Banxia asked as he stepped out.

"Yes, yes, contacted them! They're taking a taxi over now. It'll probably be more than an hour," the patient's friend replied quickly.

"When you went to his place, did you notice any medication by his bed? Did he have a cold?" Liu Banxia asked.

The patient's friend thought for a moment, then nodded. "I think so. The day before yesterday was his day off, and he spent the whole day and night playing computer games at an internet cafe. Then yesterday, he said he caught a cold and even asked me to call in sick for him."

"I figured he was just trying to skip work after gaming for so long, so it didn't sound serious then. The factory's been swamped these past two days, so I didn't get a chance to check on him."

"If he took another day off this month, he'd exceed his allowed leave, and his pay would be docked. Today was my day off, so I went to see him. It scared me half to death! He was barely able to speak. I immediately called 120 for an ambulance, not 110 for the police."

"Then I gave him some water, and he seemed to perk up a bit. But when I started asking him what was wrong, he suddenly deteriorated. The ambulance arrived just then, so we rushed him here."

The young man was speaking somewhat incoherently and didn't directly answer Liu Banxia's questions. Liu Banxia wasn't pressing him; anyone would be terrified if their friend suddenly ended up in such a state.

Liu Banxia understood. The young man needs to compose himself. Even if his account is a bit muddled, I can still get the gist of it.