Chapter 297: Chapter 297

Liu Banxia had only read about this disease in books. However, because the symptoms were so clear, when he detected that the patient’s skin could be easily broken with a cotton ball, he made a direct diagnosis.

But he never thought that the progression of the disease during the patient’s episode could be so fast. By 1:00 a.m. on the second day, seven more macules appeared on his body.

Liu Banxia was very hesitant. If there were only one or two, they could still be directly removed. But now, so many had appeared at once, and symptoms had already shown up in the oral mucosa and corneas. Was there still time?

After discussing with the ICU doctor, they concluded they should continue observation and perform further blood tests to check the patient’s overall condition.

This check revealed a troublesome result: inflammation was found in the patient’s lungs, and signs of decline were seen in his liver and kidney functions. Even more critical was that the patient’s body temperature was rising.

Based on these symptoms, it was almost impossible to turn the situation around. The patient’s toxic epidermal necrolysis had reached a full-blown stage. Even if these seven macules were handled, more would still appear.

At present, the only actions they could take were electrolyte regulation, cooling, continuing aggressive treatment, and issuing a critical condition notice.

Liu Banxia didn’t go back to the emergency department, deciding to stay up all night.

By 6:00 a.m., the number of macules and ulcers on the patient’s body was uncountable. At this point, any treatment was futile. After issuing the final critical condition notice, the patient’s family was given the remaining time with him.

There was no longer a need to worry about bacterial infection; the patient’s body was already widely infected, and there was truly no chance of survival.

"Sigh... this whole night’s work was all for nothing," Liu Banxia yawned after returning to the emergency department.

"Are your parents leaving today? If so, why don’t you take a taxi and see them off?" Zhou Li suggested.

"I won’t bother. I’ll just make a phone call," Liu Banxia responded. "Actually, I’m used to staying up all night now. I’ll catch up on some sleep after breakfast."

"Teacher Liu, why did this disease progress so quickly?" Su Wenhao asked.

"Normally, after the macules appear, the patient only has about seventy-two hours. This patient’s physical condition must have changed in the later stages, causing an adverse drug reaction," Liu Banxia explained.

"This should also serve as a reminder to you all: in the future, no matter what medication you prescribe, you need to consider all potential adverse reactions. Instruct patients to notify us immediately if any unusual symptoms appear."

"Medicines cure diseases, but many also have varying degrees of complications. Some reactions are very obvious, while others are quite insidious."

"You all stayed up all night too, so let’s go get some food. Isn’t it your day off? I can’t quite remember, and I’m too lazy to check the roster."

"Teacher Liu, it’s our turn to rest. But I still think being on duty is better; it’s a good way to learn quietly," Su Wenhao said.

Liu Banxia patted his shoulder. "The six of you are all very talented, but as Director Zhou always says, ’One is never too old to learn.’"

"Medical science is advanced now, but there are still many diseases with unknown causes. Even if the cause is found, we may not find an effective treatment."

"You all need to learn gradually; don’t put too much pressure on yourselves. I later found out you were all carefully selected by the Chief Director. You’re all excellent. Anyway, I’m very satisfied, and so is the Chief Director."

Hearing Liu Banxia’s praise made the two of them feel a bit embarrassed. Their role model was Liu Banxia, and they still had a long way to go to reach his level.

On the way to the cafeteria, Liu Banxia made a video call to his parents. Seeing his bloodshot eyes, Peng Xiuqin was heartbroken.

To Liu Banxia’s surprise, Qiaoqiao had also booked a hotel room directly, just to avoid any delays in getting to the station in the morning to see them off.

Liu Banxia showered him with praise. This friend is truly like a brother. Even though he usually seems careless, he can be very thoughtful at times.

A large bowl of millet porridge greatly boosted his spirits. He then ate four tea-leaf eggs, picked up his second bowl of millet porridge, and ate it with steamed buns and pickles.

Even though they had been eating with Liu Banxia for a long time, Su Wenhao and the other intern were still shocked.

Their appetites had increased considerably since their school days, but compared to Liu Banxia? Theirs didn’t even come close.

When they returned to the emergency department and saw that Shi Lei had also arrived for work, Liu Banxia finally felt relieved enough to take a nap in the break room. However, just as he was sleeping soundly, he was awakened by a commotion in the emergency room.

This is a bit of a headache, he thought, but he still had to get up and see what was going on. Just as he stepped out, a cacophony of voices flooded his ears, agitating him immensely.

Although he had anticipated some trouble based on the family’s behavior yesterday, he hadn’t expected them to be so difficult to handle.

"He’s dead! You doctors have to give us an explanation! Was your medication wrong? What’s the real cause of death? You have to make it clear!"

"Was it because you delayed treating his diverticulitis that my father suddenly got worse? You must explain this!"

"Why did you stop treating my brother-in-law later? If you had continued, he definitely would have been cured! Was it because you saw we didn’t have enough money in our account, so you just watched him die?"

... The source of this content ɪs 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⚑𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚑𝙣𝙚𝙩

"What’s all this shouting about?" Liu Banxia yelled. "If you have an issue, talk to me. I’m the attending physician and the one in charge. If you continue to cause a disturbance, we’ll call the police."

His shout, however, only made the group of family members surround him again. The number of relatives present was now significantly larger than those who had accompanied the patient the previous night.

"Banxia, the patient died fifteen minutes ago," Shi Lei reminded him, squeezing through the crowd.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Who was here last night? You are the patient’s immediate family; I will only answer your questions."

"Dr. Liu, my husband can’t have just died so inexplicably!" sobbed the patient’s wife.

"I can understand how you feel, but making an unreasonable scene isn’t going to solve anything," Liu Banxia said.

"Yesterday in the consultation room, I explained the patient’s condition to you in detail. Three doctors spent nearly an hour explaining it. What part did you not understand?"

"After you signed the consent form, we immediately performed debridement surgery. During the explanation, we also told you that only a few macules were visible at that time, but new ones would appear during subsequent treatment. This is part of the disease’s progression."

"Then why didn’t you perform more surgeries later? Didn’t you say there would be a second and third surgery?" a young man standing nearby interjected.

"I didn’t see you here yesterday. I refuse to answer your question," Liu Banxia replied, then turned to the patient’s daughter.

"When we issued the first critical illness notice, did we explain to you why no further surgery was performed? Answer carefully; we can check the surveillance footage at any time."

"Dr. Liu, but my husband only had diverticulitis! How did he get this poisoning disease? How are my daughter and I supposed to live now..." The patient’s wife started crying again.

"Toxic epidermal necrolysis can be triggered by many factors," Liu Banxia said after a slight hesitation. "If you want to determine the exact triggering cause for this patient, an autopsy is the only way."

"When we admitted the patient yesterday, this was the diagnosis we were able to make. As for the patient’s diverticulitis, in the face of this disease, it wasn’t even a consideration."

"If you dispute our admission process and treatment, you can contact our Medical Affairs Department. They will cooperate with you for any subsequent investigation."

"We need to maintain normal operations here. Causing a scene won’t solve any problems. I..."

"You’re just shirking responsibility!" the young man interjected again. "He walked in here fine and died after you treated him! All you care about is collecting money and issuing critical illness notices! Who knows what you’re really up to!"

"Call the police," Liu Banxia said calmly. "From now on, we will not answer any more of your questions. If you have concerns, go to our Medical Affairs Department and follow the proper procedures."

This wasn’t the first or second time he had dealt with medical disputes; he was quite experienced by now.

There’s simply no reasoning with families . The only people they might listen to are the police officers, Liu Banxia thought.

The reason he had hesitated earlier was that even he couldn’t be certain whether the patient’s illness was directly or indirectly related to the metronidazole he had been taking.

Therefore, he didn’t dare say anything without proof. If he misspoke and they latched onto it, things would become even more difficult to handle.

Even though he had said to call the police, the relatives didn’t back down at all and continued to besiege him with accusations. Fortunately, they were somewhat restrained, only shouting and not resorting to physical violence.

It wasn’t until the police arrived that these people were finally persuaded to disperse. However, this was only temporary; it wasn’t over yet, and they would surely continue to cause trouble. This family was much more aggressive than the one Liu Banxia had clashed with last time, even though they hadn’t used physical force.

"Sigh... I’m starting to regret it now. Our goodwill last night was completely wasted, like casting pearls before swine," Wang Huan remarked with great feeling.

"Our Emergency Department is often where these kinds of situations happen. But what can we do? We can only endure it silently," Liu Banxia said helplessly.

"Doctor Qi, please contact Director Qin. Let him know so he can be mentally prepared and handle this matter properly. Don’t let it become a muddled mess."

Qi Wentai blinked, looked at Liu Banxia, and nodded. "Thanks."

Liu Banxia waved his hand. "Business is business, personal is personal."

That was all he could say. This family definitely wouldn’t let things go easily. Whether Old Qin would be dragged into this would depend on Old Qin’s own luck.