"Doctor, is Ruirui... is he dying? Is there no way to save him?"
Seeing Liu Banxia remain silent with his head bowed, the patient was filled with dread.
Liu Banxia still didn’t say anything. Instead, he reached directly into the trash can.
This action startled both Zhang Xiao and Xu Hui. Even with gloves on, he shouldn’t be doing that! The patient just coughed up blood. Regardless of the transmission route, that blood definitely contains viruses.
"Brother Zhang, Brother Xu, I think I can identify the infecting bacteria now," Liu Banxia said after squeezing the "blood clot" in his hand.
"Huh? That’s not right. This isn’t a blood clot!" Xu Hui exclaid in surprise.
Liu Banxia nodded, the corners of his mouth behind his mask curving up slightly. "This is a sputum plug. But because it’s covered in blood, it looked like a blood clot to us."
"Acute pneumonia, complicated by high fever and sepsis, with brownish-red, currant jelly-like sputum. Can we confirm the diagnosis now?" Liu Banxia asked.
Xu Hui nodded. "No doubt about it. It’s Klebsiella pneumoniae. Let’s get on it quickly. I’ll notify the lab to run a sensitivity test and tell the OR to start the first round of antibiotics."
"Ma’am, please don’t worry, Ruirui will be alright. We’ve identified the cause of his illness. We’ll also do a sensitivity test for you, and then you’ll both receive treatnt," Liu Banxia said, turning to the patient.
"This is a Klebsiella pneumoniae infection. Many people carry this bacterium as part of the normal flora in their intestines and respiratory tracts, and it’s also found in water in the natural environnt. It only tends to cause illness when a person’s immunity is compromised."
"However, this type of pneumonia can be quite tenacious, and the course of the illness is relatively long. You should be prepared for about half a month of treatnt. But now that we’ve identified the bacterium, we should be able to manage it effectively."
The patient nodded, a faint smile touching her lips, followed by another series of violent coughs.
Liu Banxia carefully disposed of the trash can’s contents and disinfected himself thoroughly before leaving the room. All three of them had been in close proximity to the patient.
Actually, treating a disease is often like performing a magic trick. You might think magic is amazing, but once the secret is revealed, it’s actually quite straightforward.
It’s similar with diseases; their external manifestations can be diverse. For instance, the fundantal issue with the mother and son’s illnesses today was identifying the pathogenic microorganism causing the infection. Once there are indicative signs, targeted examinations can yield results quickly.
"Not bad. You’re very observant," Zhou Shuwen said, patting Liu Banxia firmly on the shoulder once the test results ca back.
DING!
[Was it a nosocomial infection? Task completed.]
[You have gained 500 experience points, 200 proficiency points in Diagnostics, and 10 Glory Points.]
"It’s not that I’m particularly observant; I just got lucky," Liu Banxia said with a smile.
"Initially, the mother’s infection wasn’t as severe, so her sputum appeared normal. And because it was mixed with blood, the characteristic signs weren’t as clear."
"The child, due to his empyema, had the infection flare up at the surgical site, so his respiratory symptoms weren’t very pronounced. If you ask , it was the mother who inadvertently helped save the child."
"The child’s immunity was significantly weakened by the surgery, allowing the Klebsiella pneumoniae to proliferate. Fortunately, it didn’t lead to a wider hospital-acquired outbreak."
In truth, it wasn’t just Liu Banxia; even Zhou Shuwen felt a twinge of fear. Klebsiella pneumoniae is highly contagious and spreads via the respiratory route. Aerosols generated by the patient’s coughing and sneezing would disperse nearby. Even those at a distance within the ward could potentially get infected.
Now, everyone else sharing the ward with the mother and child would also need thorough examinations as a preventive asure.
If Liu Banxia hadn’t made an accurate diagnosis and issued containnt orders imdiately, many more patients could have been affected. Klebsiella pneumoniae infections, once they take hold, can be fulminant, with a rapid disease course and a high mortality rate.
"Next, let’s conduct a thorough disinfection to ensure nothing is missed. Pay special attention to crowded public areas; they all need to be addressed," Zhou Shuwen said.
"Director, rest assured, we’ll get on it right away," Liu Banxia nodded.
This was indeed a necessary asure. After all, the hospital housed many immunocompromised patients and very few genuinely healthy individuals. Moreover, many who appeared healthy might actually have weakened immune systems.
"You really did well this ti. One could even say you ’turned the tide against overwhelming odds’," Shi Lei remarked once they were outside.
"You’re giving too much credit. It was mostly luck. Anyone who was nearby when the patient coughed up sputum could have noticed it," Liu Banxia said.
"No way! I was right there, and I didn’t notice a thing," Xu Hui interjected.
"On this, I truly have to hand it to you. Your powers of observation are far beyond the average person’s; it’s not sothing everyone can manage. No wonder you’ve always been able to diagnose complex cases so quickly. Those observation skills are incredible."
"That’s exactly what everyone in the Ergency Center says: Banxia isn’t omnipotent, but we absolutely can’t do without him," Zhang Xiao chid in.
The interns standing by were highly amused. Only these attending physicians could joke with Liu Banxia so freely. They might have similar thoughts, but they wouldn’t dare voice them.
Liu Banxia felt a sense of exasperated amusent; these colleagues were masters of teasing.
However, deep down, he was also quite moved. This is the benefit the system has brought . If I were still my old self, I probably wouldn’t have spared a second glance at the sputum sample, even if it were right in front of .
This is likely the dual bonus from the enhancent of my physical attributes and the improvent in my Diagnostics skill proficiency. Otherwise, with the sputum being mixed with blood, it would have been genuinely difficult to spot.
"See that? You all must find a way to cultivate this kind of observational skill," Shi Lei said with a smile.
"It’s harder for us; we’ve already developed a certain degree of fixed thinking. You guys are still young, just entering this field, and you still have a lot of plasticity."
"Now that you have this opportunity, you must seize it. Otherwise, you’ll regret it later when it’s too late. This is one of his signature skills; try to learn as much of it as you can from him."
"What are you even saying? Am I so kind of quest NPC or a boss monster now? Defeat and I’ll drop skill books?" Liu Banxia said helplessly.
"Teacher Liu, gas mostly don’t work like that anymore. That’s a ga chanic from many years ago," Xu Yino said earnestly.
"Sigh... tis are changing so fast. I see lots of kids playing those jungler roles in MOBAs, while I’m mostly stuck playing tile-matching gas," Liu Banxia said.
"Diagnosing the infecting pathogen so quickly is quite satisfying. So, as a reward for all of you... you get to help with the big cleanup," Liu Banxia announced.
The interns didn’t mind; they would have helped anyway. Otherwise, if it were left solely to the current nursing staff, a thorough cleaning could take until who knows when.
"Excellent work. A very tily discovery," Chen Xuehai remarked, walking over.
"Is the surgery done? How’s the child?" Liu Banxia asked quickly.
"Drainage plus antibacterial therapy. We’ll still need to observe him for another day or two. But I don’t think it’ll be a major issue; it was discovered and treated promptly," Chen Xuehai said.
"Keep it up. If you can identify the cause in septic patients like this one so quickly in the future, the mortality rate in our Ergency Center will definitely drop significantly."
"Why are you ganging up on with them too? That Acinetobacter baumannii sepsis patient last ti nearly did in," Liu Banxia said with a sigh.
"This ti was truly a fluke. After all, not all Klebsiella pneumoniae patients produce that characteristic currant jelly sputum. And there are so many bacteria that can cause sepsis; I was even considering a ho visit to investigate."
"The child’s resistance was already low, and he’d just had lung surgery. I was afraid he wouldn’t even make it through the night, let alone until morning."
Chen Xuehai nodded. "You’re probably right. The intrathoracic infection was too severe. That much exudate in such a short period... it’s frightening just to think about."
"By the way, make sure to acknowledge the nurse who first spotted the issue. That was a crucial observation. It might be an exaggeration to say she saved both their lives, but it’s not far off."
"After all, they were in a different departnt’s ward. If she hadn’t made that early discovery, we might only have connected the dots when the mother’s pneumonia, initially thought to be related to her stroke, worsened significantly."
"By that point, the young patient could have developed respiratory failure. Even now, there’s likely so degree of damage to his lung tissue. It was a really dangerous situation."
"We were just discussing that. Everyone’s been praising Banxia’s incredible observational skills," Zhang Xiao said with a smile.
"Actually, I deserve so credit too," Zhang Xiao said with a perfectly straight face. "If I hadn’t imdiately thought of our mighty President Liu and reported the patient’s condition to him, we might not have made the connection for the diagnosis."
"Alright, alright, spare , will you? Late-night snacks are on , how about that?" Liu Banxia surrendered.
Being on the receiving end of this barrage of complints was actually quite overwhelming.
"That’s more like it! You definitely need to cough up so cash for this one," Shi Lei said, grinning.
"Everyone, let’s get back to work. And while we’re at it, start thinking about what you want for those late-night snacks. Our President Liu really shone today. This incident will probably even earn him a comndation from the hospital."
Chen Xuehai nodded in agreent. "It certainly will. He contained a potential Klebsiella pneumoniae outbreak, which saved our Ergency Center from a huge loss."
"This is a major achievent; the hospital will definitely issue a comndation. Keep up the good work and continue to perform well. Although they won’t ask for our opinions when selecting the deputy director, know that we’ll be supporting you."
"Aren’t we getting a little ahead of ourselves?" Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.
"Not at all. Having you around gives us peace of mind. You help us identify and address overlooked issues," Chen Xuehai said.
His affirmation carried significant weight, not just because he was the head of Cardiac Surgery for the Ergency Center, but also due to his connections. He was the Chief Director’s grandson. Even if he wasn’t directly involved in all hospital matters, he certainly heard a lot. By saying this, he was essentially giving everyone an inside scoop.
Everyone’s spirits were high; the current Ergency Center was remarkably united. And, as Chen Xuehai had implied, with Liu Banxia shouldering such responsibilities, everyone else could work with a greater sense of security.
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