When Liu Banxia rushed into the lobby of the ergency center, the situation was already under control. However, it was rely controlled; the tense atmosphere hadn’t changed.
A man, presumably the patient’s son, was brandishing an IV stand, blocking the entrance to Resuscitation Room 1.
"Put that down first," Zhou Shuwen said. "I’m the director of this ergency center. If this truly is our dical error, we will take full responsibility.
"I also told you just now that we currently can’t determine the cause of cardiac arrest. We perford all appropriate resuscitation asures. Only an autopsy can determine the true cause of your father’s death."
"You expect to trust you? Just you wait! And where’s that doctor from earlier? Don’t think hiding will do any good. This isn’t over!" the patient’s son shouted.
Liu Banxia frowned. "Huang Bo, what exactly happened?"
"His father ca with him, seeking dical attention for being drunk. Teacher Wang perford a physical examination and blood tests. Only his blood pressure was a bit high, so he received treatnt to sober up," Huang Bo quickly explained. "Initially, the patient was talking and laughing with his son, but then he suddenly fainted. He went into cardiac arrest. We perford CPR and defibrillation, but we couldn’t revive him.
"The patient’s son beca agitated imdiately. When Teacher Wang went out to inform him, the son punched Teacher Wang twice. That’s when I went to find you."
Liu Banxia frowned. Treating intoxicated patients was routine here. Moreover, since the patient had co in voluntarily and was even able to talk and laugh, he certainly wouldn’t have been given a large dose of any dication.
"Director, please rest for a bit. Let handle this," Liu Banxia said, pulling Zhou Shuwen aside. He was genuinely worried the patient’s son might impulsively strike Zhou Shuwen in his agitated state.
"Hello," Liu Banxia said, standing in front of the patient’s son.
"Who are you? What do you want? I’ve already called the police," the patient’s son said.
"I am also a doctor at the ergency center. I’m very sorry about what has happened," Liu Banxia said. "But no matter what, there has to be a solution. I can assure you that we will not move your father’s remains without authorization.
"You’re not the only one here; there are other patients and their families. We also have surveillance caras. Even if you sue us, we will provide the footage as evidence.
"Plus, you’ve already called the police. If you continue to attack our dical staff, you’ll put yourself in a difficult position. With so many people here, even if we wanted to evade responsibility, we couldn’t get away with it."
"Who knows what crooked sches your hospital is up to? My dad just had a bit too much to drink. He was supposed to et friends this afternoon and just wanted to sober up here, and you people killed him! I... I..."
As he spoke, the patient’s son squatted on the ground and began to cry.
Liu Banxia gave Zhou Shuwen a subtle look, then squatted down beside the young man.
"Don’t worry," Liu Banxia said. "With so many people witnessing this, we couldn’t cover it up even if we wanted to.
"Moreover, the cause of this incident must be investigated, not only to give your father justice but also to give the ergency center a fair investigation.
"Standard treatnt to sober soone up involves an IV drip with glucose and administering diuretics. This increases the body’s tabolism, helping to quickly process the alcohol and expel it from the system.
"I’m not saying this to favor our dical staff; the prescription you were given would have clear markings. Who told you that an IV with glucose can make soone sicker? Did your father have diabetes?"
The patient’s son wiped away a tear and shook his head. "No diabetes, just a bit of high blood pressure. The prescription might have been correct, but perhaps you people mixed up the dication."
Liu Banxia nodded. "That’s also a possibility. Do you still have the dication with you? I’ll get a sealed bag later for you to keep it in.
"If it truly is our hospital’s fault, we will hold the responsible parties accountable. The diagnosis given by the doctor was very clear. If the dication was indeed mixed up, it would be the pharmacy’s responsibility. Isn’t that how it is?"
The patient’s son paused, stunned, but then nodded.
"So, you see," Liu Banxia continued, "you punched the doctor who was trying to save your father. In principle, that wasn’t right.
"But we can all understand how you feel, which is why this matter must be thoroughly investigated. The police officers are also here. You can now contact the Health Bureau or the dical Dispute diation Committee to arrange for an autopsy on your father."
After speaking, Liu Banxia gently patted the man’s shoulder.
He seems like a reasonable person; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been this easy to communicate with him. Anyone in his shoes would find it hard to remain calm.
"Director, how’s Wang Chao?" Liu Banxia asked.
"He’s in the break room. I just reviewed the examination results. His routine blood tests are normal, and the prescription Wang Chao gave was perfectly fine," Zhou Shuwen said.
"Sigh... for sothing like this to happen right after the New Year," Liu Banxia said. "I suspect the patient had so other undiagnosed condition. It wasn’t complicated dication, so the pharmacy is unlikely to have made a mistake.
"If only the autopsy could be done in our hospital, we could find out the cause quickly. Otherwise, this issue will drag on for so ti."
"Leave this to . Go and comfort Wang Chao. He took quite a blow," Zhou Shuwen said.
Liu Banxia nodded and walked into the break room.
Wang Chao was sitting on the bed, his eyes unfocused, staring blankly ahead.
"Don’t overthink it. Just wait for the investigation results. But from my experience, you’ll probably get a few days off before they’re out," Liu Banxia said, sitting down right next to him.
"President Liu, do you think we might have used the wrong adrenaline dosage during the resuscitation? Maybe gave too high of a dose?" Wang Chao asked, turning his head.
"Do you think that’s possible?" Liu Banxia asked, shaking his head. "The adrenaline we use in the resuscitation room and on the ambulance is all standard single-dose units. The patient wasn’t a child, so how could we have made that kind of mistake?"
"Then... then..." Wang Chao hesitated, unable to voice any other possible cause.
"Don’t dwell on it. The patient must have had other underlying conditions. The director also checked your admission records and the prescription; there were no issues. Wash your face and get so rest. The director and I are here," Liu Banxia said.
Wang Chao nodded but didn’t move.
Liu Banxia said no more. He’d experienced situations like this before. Wang Chao needed ti to process everything.
He stepped outside again. The police officers who had responded to the call had completed their report.
For now, they couldn’t resolve the issue and would have to continue liaising with the dical Dispute diation Committee.
"Is Wang Chao alright?" Zhou Shuwen asked.
"He’ll need a bit more ti. But until the cause of death is determined, he’ll have to carry this burden. Director, did you see the patient’s body?" Liu Banxia asked.
Zhou Shuwen shook his head. "I haven’t gone in either. I only watched the resuscitation footage, and there were no issues with the procedure."
"Officer," Liu Banxia said, approaching one of the policen, "could you discuss with the patient’s family about moving the body to the morgue? There’s nothing more we can do for a deceased patient. Besides, the body will need to undergo an autopsy."
The police officer nodded. Keeping the deceased patient’s body in the resuscitation room was indeed inappropriate. What if a major ergency ca in requiring resuscitation? Would this cause a delay?
By now, several more of the patient’s relatives had arrived. They weren’t making a fuss over this particular point, though they were clearly struggling to accept the patient’s unexpected death.
"Just a mont!" Liu Banxia called out as they were about to move the patient’s body.
"What are you doing?" the patient’s son asked, his eyes red and glaring.
"I’m not going to do anything," Liu Banxia said. "I just noticed so blood seeping out from under the sheet, near the mouth and nose."
The patient’s family looked and saw a faint red stain slowly spreading beneath the white sheet.
"May I take a look? We might be able to determine the cause of death quickly," Liu Banxia said.
The patient’s son hesitated for a mont but then pulled back the white sheet himself.
"The patient is currently bleeding from the mouth and nostrils. If this isn’t reflux from upper gastrointestinal bleeding, it’s likely a cerebral hemorrhage," Liu Banxia said. "From my personal judgnt, it should be a cerebral hemorrhage. And it would have to be an extensive cerebral hemorrhage to cause this. It could be a ruptured artery, or more likely, an aneurysm."
"Are you lying?" the son asked.
"This isn’t sothing you can fake. Only extre intracranial pressure caused by an extensive cerebral hemorrhage would produce such symptoms," Liu Banxia said. "We’re not trying to shirk responsibility. Once the dical Dispute diation Committee arrives, you can consult with them to get a clear understanding. If it were upper gastrointestinal bleeding, the patient would have shown symptoms of vomiting blood.
"Besides, your father had high blood pressure, which makes suspect an aneurysm even more. Even Hua Tuo, were he alive today, couldn’t detect an aneurysm without a CT scan."
Hearing this, the patient’s son faltered.
Just a mont ago, his sole focus was the belief that the hospital had administered the wrong dication. But now, what this doctor was saying seed to make sense too.
Regardless of what the son thought, Liu Banxia felt truly relieved. The ergency center was not responsible. However, for now, this was only his preliminary diagnosis; an autopsy was still needed.
An aneurysm, regardless of its location, is a hidden ti bomb. If it’s going to rupture, there’s no stopping it, even if the person doesn’t have high blood pressure. And an aneurysm is very insidious; it’s often discovered accidentally. Wasn’t it the sa with that old gentleman last ti? It only caught my attention because there had been precursory bleeding. The patient was chatting with his son while receiving an IV drip. Even the most skilled doctor couldn’t have detected this condition under those circumstances.
He hurried back to the break room and relayed this new information to Wang Chao. Wang Chao finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Liu Banxia with a pleading expression.
"Personally, I recomnd you avoid contact with the patient’s family for now. They aren’t doctors, so they can’t make an accurate judgnt," Liu Banxia advised.
"Sigh... as long as I wasn’t the one who caused his death, that’s what matters," Wang Chao said with a nod.
"Alright, lie down for a bit," Liu Banxia said.
Even though he had reached this conclusion, the family’s perspective still had to be considered. That was the standard procedure.
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