White armor

Chapter 736 It wasn't a prion, it was actually hydrogen peroxide!
"Are you sure the patient was alright this afternoon?" Luo Hao asked.

An officer replied in a deep voice, "We checked the school's surveillance video, and there shouldn't be anything wrong. We've ruled out fighting or brawls. If we had to say something's wrong, it's just that he was walking a bit strangely."

"Walking strangely?"

Luo Hao frowned and asked.

"The patient has hemorrhoids, so this is likely the cause."

"Oh, then it's alright," Luo Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

He opened his phone and video-called his senior from Beijing.

"Hello, Senior Brother Liang, I am Dr. Luo."

"Dr. Luo, are you also preparing to become a forensic doctor? Forensic medicine is good, really good, there have never been any medical disputes." Senior Brother Liang made a cold joke.

But this joke wasn't funny at all to Luo Hao.

"Hey, Senior Brother Liang, stop fooling around, take a look." Luo Hao focused his gaze on the deceased's head.

"Oh?" Senior Brother Liang said with a meaningful tone.

Luo Hao sensed something different in Liang's voice and asked, "Senior Brother Liang, you have a lot of experience in this area, could you give me some pointers?"

"Don't speak!" Senior Brother Liang said sternly.

His voice startled Luo Hao, who quickly shut his mouth.

The door to the autopsy room was closed, and the temperature inside was probably only around 10 degrees Celsius.

Luo Hao calmed down and felt white steam rising from his body. The place was cold and eerie, as if several ghosts were hovering and lurking behind him.

The breath seemed to have come to life, vaguely transforming into countless shapes, frolicking and playing in front of Luo Hao.

Of course, Luo Hao knew it was an illusion. He frowned slightly, pricked up his ears, and heard a "hissing" sound.

It can be described as "sizzle" or "cut".

It's as if something behind you is looking down on you, making disdainful noises.

uh~
No! My senior told me to keep quiet because there were strange noises.

Luo Hao was sure he hadn't misheard, so he pricked up his ears and listened carefully.

Less than a second later, Luo Hao heard that voice again.

"Dr. Luo, turn the body over," Senior Brother Liang said curtly.

"Oh, okay." Luo Hao held his phone, not getting any closer, but taking a few steps away.

"Dr. Luo?" Senior Brother Liang was somewhat surprised.

But the next second he saw the AI ​​robot, wearing protective clothing, walk over and turn the body over.

Its strength was immense, and it steadily flipped the corpse over.

"sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss~~~"

The hissing sound continued; it turned out that... the deceased was breathing out, rather than some strange or supernatural force.

Luo Hao breathed a sigh of relief. He rarely performed autopsies and lacked experience, so he had initially thought it was a ghost story.

Soon a fecal mass the size of a date pit was ejected, along with liquid intestinal fluid.

Luo Hao subconsciously took a few steps back, thus avoiding being sprayed all over his head and face.

"Dr. Luo, are your doctors alright? They're really great, they do whatever you say without hesitation," Senior Brother Liang asked.

"It's an AI robot, it's fine." Luo Hao is really enjoying working with AI robots more and more these days.

Zhuang Yan would have vomited long ago if she encountered something like this, but the AI ​​robot didn't seem to mind at all.

The subsequent discharge of feces was of normal color, nothing unusual.

But Luo Hao noticed strange bubbles in the feces.

"Dr. Luo, go and test the bubbles to see if they are alkaline," said Senior Brother Liang.

Luo Hao didn't ask why; he simply did as his senior brother Liang instructed.

But there was a problem with the sample, so Luo Hao called out to the people outside and told them what he wanted through the door.

Luo Hao knew about mobile testing vehicles during the pandemic, so he asked Dean Zhuang to make contact with them, while he himself began to study what to do next in the autopsy room.

Luo Hao wasn't surprised that the "fresh" corpses were like this. Clinically deceased patients always had their anus plugged to prevent fecal matter from leaking out after the muscles relaxed.

This is normal.

But Luo Hao didn't know what alkalinity meant.

"Senior Brother Liang, do you often encounter similar situations?" Luo Hao asked.

“Not often, it’s a bit strange,” said Senior Brother Liang.

"Huh?" Luo Hao was taken aback.

“Something feels off, Dr. Luo. Wait a moment, let me ask someone in the circle,” said Senior Brother Liang.

The police officers and forensic doctors were stunned. Forensic doctors in the capital city are already top-notch, so why would they need to find someone else?

I'd heard before that Professor Luo was an expert at finding people to help him, but I never imagined that the people he found would also be able to find people.

The forensic doctor was somewhat intrigued. Who was this person going to shake? Could it be a top figure in the field of forensic medicine?

definitely is!

It's obvious that this expert from the capital is experienced and in his prime, but while he seems to have some ideas, he doesn't have many.

The person who gets picked up by the lottery must be a big shot.

Several names had already come to mind for the forensic doctor.

He suddenly became excited. He was going to see those big shots, and he had to perform well! He absolutely couldn't lose face in front of the top experts in the industry.

At the very least, they need to demonstrate the professionalism of their own forensic system.

Ignoring the filth and excrement all over the ground, the forensic doctor pushed the AI ​​robot aside and stood calmly next to the corpse.

"Hello, hello, Mr. Liang, is there something you need?"

A young voice drifted from Luo Hao's phone.

Uh... The forensic doctor was stunned. How could it be a young man?! Just by listening to his voice, you could tell he wasn't some big shot, but a young man who had just started working in the forensic profession. He could even detect the sunshine in his voice.

After working in this industry for a long time, everyone becomes gloomy; no one can be sunny.

Moreover, the person addressed Senior Brother Liang as Boss Liang, not in a sarcastic way, but as if it were a common practice, suggesting he was just a young upstart.

What's that person in the capital doing?!

"Xiao Yang, you're experienced, come and take a look. This is a third-year student from Jiangbei Medical University who suddenly suffered from persistent diarrhea and died suddenly. The autopsy shows that his brain tissue was honeycombed."

"Oh? Mr. Liang, did you consider that hydrogen peroxide was used?" the young forensic doctor, Xiao Yang, asked casually.

"???"

"???"

The autopsy room fell silent.

Everyone looked at each other, wondering what the hydrogen peroxide joke was.

Luo Hao immediately realized that the deceased had hemorrhoids, and using hydrogen peroxide might cause air embolism.

But it shouldn't be enough to turn brain tissue into a beehive; Luo Hao still couldn't understand it.

"Xiao Yang, take a look." Senior Brother Liang didn't make a fuss, but instead asked the young forensic doctor to check the situation.

"Let's shift the perspective and take a look at the excrement."

Luo Hao remained silent, showing complete respect for the young forensic doctor, Yang, and shifted his gaze to the feces that had just been expelled.

There were some small air bubbles in the stool, but Luo Hao didn't think they were related to hydrogen peroxide.

"Let me see the underwear the deceased was wearing before he died."

"???"

Although Luo Hao was somewhat surprised, he still looked at the forensic doctor.

The forensic doctor first consulted and, after receiving permission, laid the deceased's underwear on the ground. Luo Hao then walked over with his phone.

The feces sprayed out onto my underwear and stuck to it.

The poop is white. After it freezes in the freezer, it looks like the sticky phlegm on the ground in winter. The white poop has ice crystals and frozen air bubbles.

"This is caused by hydrogen peroxide enema. The patient has copper sulfate. Let me take a look at the anus and rectum." Forensic doctor Xiao Yang gave the answer almost without hesitation.

Luo Hao was stunned.

Does this work too?
But the forensic doctor, Xiao Yang, spoke with certainty, his words carrying a quality that Luo Hao firmly believed in.

Without much hesitation, Luo Hao took his phone and went to the patient's anus.

After the AI ​​robot pried it open, a nearly healed abrasion could be seen in the field of vision.

The wound was almost healed, but not completely. Luo Hao judged that if it were hydrogen peroxide, this situation could indeed occur.

but!

How much hydrogen peroxide would that require?

While air embolism caused by hydrogen peroxide disinfection is occasionally seen in clinical practice, cases like this, where the brain is burned to a crisp, are unprecedented.

Is that all the forensic doctor, Xiao Yang, is sure about?

That must require a lot of experience.

"Teacher Yang, do you work in Chengdu?" Luo Hao asked.

“Yes, we see it all the time here,” said forensic doctor Xiao Yang.

After answering, he suddenly paused, "Is it Senior Brother Luo? Senior Brother Luo Hao?"

Uh~~~
Luo Hao couldn't remember Xiao Yang at all.

"Yes," said Senior Brother Liang.

"Holy crap! Senior Brother Luo! Long time no see!!" Forensic doctor Xiao Yang exclaimed excitedly.

"Uh, which year were you in?"

"I just graduated and came to Chengdu to work; I didn't stay in Beijing. I bowed several times in front of your and Zhu Zi's photos for my graduation thesis, and it passed smoothly! Thank you, Senior Brother Luo, thank you, Senior Brother Luo!"

"..."

"..."

"Forensic Doctor Yang, are you sure?" Luo Hao asked.

"Senior Brother Luo, just call me Xiao Yang. Back when I was studying, you were already doing clinical work. Your legend was all over the school." Xiao Yang on the other end of the video call had become unconsciously excited, and his words were incoherent. He didn't answer Luo Hao's question.

"Uh, okay. Xiao Yang, are you sure?" Luo Hao asked directly. "Yes, I'm sure. The situation under the skull is confirmed. Have the criminal police look for things nearby; they should be able to find relevant people and the hydrogen peroxide bottle. With such severe burns, they must have had at least 1000ml of hydrogen peroxide poured in. Seriously, this is outrageous."

"it is good."

Luo Hao gave a wink, and the police officers and forensic doctor understood, turning to communicate with the people outside the door using a walkie-talkie.

It's good that it's not some serious infectious disease; nobody wants to leave the autopsy room only to be locked up in an infectious disease hospital.

We also need to observe and conduct countless tests.

Hearing what the forensic doctor, Xiao Yang, said, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and their tone when communicating with people outside became much more relaxed.

“Brother Luo, the first case I handled after I started working here was similar to this one.”

"Oh? How do you say it?"

"This isn't a big deal. I heard from my teacher that they apply a little erythromycin ointment before doing things, firstly for lubrication, and secondly to prevent infection."

"But over time, I developed hemorrhoids, and then one time during an activity, they ruptured and bled."

The deceased was afraid to tell his family, so he tried to disinfect the wound with erythromycin ointment, and then it happened again.

As a result, the strenuous exercise caused the condition to worsen after the medication was finished.

The deceased realized that this wasn't a solution, so he searched online for ways to disinfect and reduce inflammation.

I've tried many methods, but they either hurt or the fluid just flows out after being poured in, which is troublesome and too dirty.

The forensic doctor, Xiao Yang, spoke somewhat incoherently, but Luo Hao listened attentively. There is knowledge to be gained in everything, and different professions are like different worlds. Luo Hao was not arrogant and thought he was the best in the world.

There are many unfamiliar concepts here, such as erythromycin ointment and hydrogen peroxide.

"Her boyfriend is very clever. He said that since the drug's residence time is short, then you should increase the concentration. Wouldn't that make the disinfection efficiency much higher per unit time?"

The deceased thought about it and realized that there wasn't anything wrong with saying that.

The mildest disinfectants on the market are things like ethacridine lactate, iodine tincture, and hydrogen peroxide.

"Ethacridine lactate solution? What's that?" The forensic doctor from the provincial capital had just returned and asked upon hearing forensic doctor Xiao Yang's words.

"Yellow medicine," Luo Hao said. "If you use it, it will stain your underwear. It's a pretty good medicine."

"Oh, oh, oh." Senior Brother Liang nodded.

"Yes, yellow disinfectant looked too dirty, so I didn't use it. The second one was similar to iodine, but it also left an abnormal color, so I didn't use that either. I chose hydrogen peroxide instead."

Luo Hao listened intently as the forensic doctor, Xiao Yang, recounted previous cases, and he could already vaguely see the person heading towards the end of their life.

However, since they kept referring to the dead, they must have died long ago. This isn't the time to be sentimental. Luo Hao listened intently, not missing a single word.

It wasn't that Luo Hao was being gossipy, but rather that today's matter fell into a blind spot in his knowledge, and he was determined to fill that gap in his understanding.

"High concentration hydrogen peroxide, which is 1%-3%, is not available on the market. There is 10% available online, but it is expensive."

"The deceased's boyfriend said that there was 35% hydrogen peroxide in the chemistry lab, which is a high concentration and would definitely work well."

"Wow!" Luo Hao exclaimed in surprise. Medical hydrogen peroxide has a concentration of less than or equal to 3%, and it needs to be diluted before use.

Should we use 35% hydrogen peroxide directly from the laboratory?

I really don't know how to write the word "death".

Did that person really experience nine years of compulsory education?

"Can we just walk into the lab like that?" one person finally couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, I didn't understand at first either, but I found out after asking."

Using the NFC function on an Android phone, the deceased's boyfriend pretended to ask his chemistry teacher a question, and used his phone to touch a card that the teacher had placed on his desk, directly copying it.

This copying card comes in two types: IC card and UCID card. The IC card is easy to copy, but it is said that the UCID card cannot be copied and needs to be burned.

Coincidentally, this access card is an IC card.

"..."

Luo Hao sighed. He was indeed very clever, but very unlucky. Everything went wrong, and he managed to steal the hydrogen peroxide from the laboratory.

"They didn't even wait to get home; they started irrigating in the school bathroom. In fact, the deceased's wounds had almost healed, partly because he was young and partly because he hadn't experienced any stimulation for a long time."

"The deceased's boyfriend later recounted the enema procedure, so I won't go into details; it's disgusting. In short, they poured 500ml of 35% hydrogen peroxide, which they had stolen from the lab, into her."

"As the hydrogen peroxide used for irrigation decomposes, a large amount of gas is formed. Then the abdominal pressure increases, and the sphincter muscles are not strong enough. At first, I could still bear it, but later I could only gush out mixed with feces."

Luo Hao immediately realized that the deceased in front of him had also sprayed the bathroom walls with hydrogen peroxide. It seemed that it wasn't diarrhea, but rather the increased pressure in his intestines caused by drinking hydrogen peroxide.

Damn it, Luo Hao wanted to curse.

It's all nine years of compulsory education, how could anyone be so ignorant?

"The deceased's boyfriend was sprayed all over and went back to change his clothes. The deceased put on her pants and waited in the hallway."

“There was video surveillance right outside the bathroom. In the video, the deceased was walking around, clearly still wanting to defecate. But he didn’t go to defecate. Less than a minute later, he leaned against the wall and fell straight down.”

"Just like in the movies, it fell straight down. I think I could even hear a bang when I watched the video surveillance."

Luo Hao sighed. It was hard to understand, but many things were indeed difficult to comprehend. 35% hydrogen peroxide, just poured into the intestines like that—Luo Hao even suspected the deceased's boyfriend had done it on purpose.

Otherwise, what's the point of feeding nine years of compulsory education to dogs?
"During the 120 emergency medical examination, the pupils of both eyes did not respond to light, blood pressure was high, and there was no response to acupuncture on the left side of the body. It was diagnosed as hemiplegia, and it was thought to be a stroke in the right brain."

Then the parents were notified, and after being taken to the hospital, an enhanced CT scan was performed, which revealed ischemia in the right brain. Before the MRI could be done, and before the parents arrived, the person was gone after the CT scan.

Then came CPR, followed by a rapid ventricular tachycardia, followed by a brief, feeble heartbeat, and finally, a death-like cardiac arrest. They continued with perfunctory CPR, and then pronounced the patient dead.

"That afternoon, two hours after the deceased's death, the parents arrived."

The deceased's mother, a businesswoman, called them immediately, but they were very impatient, uncooperative, and irresponsible. They didn't arrive at the hospital until two hours after the incident.

After arriving, he felt like the sky was falling, and he started verbally and physically abusing the teachers and doctors.

"Uh, let's not talk about that. Let's see how the autopsy went," Luo Hao corrected the off-topic, refusing to let the forensic doctor, Xiao Yang, gossip about previous cases.

The main problem was that Luo Hao had already understood what was going on, but the forensic doctor, Xiao Yang, wanted to continue explaining, which was taking up too much time.

The autopsy room smelled terrible, and if possible, Luo Hao wouldn't want to stay there for even a second longer.

"Oh, oh, I'm so sorry, Senior Brother Luo," the forensic doctor, Xiao Yang, quickly said. "The autopsy revealed that, just like the deceased in front of us, the brain was frozen tofu-like, the kind you Northeasterners like."

"..."

"..."

Luo Hao sighed deeply.

Forensic doctors are indeed different from others, perhaps because of their working environment. They speak without any taboos and don't even consider other people's perspectives.

It's probably related to the fact that they rarely talk to people; their emotional intelligence is nowhere near that of Fang Cunshan.

"Then why the brain?" the forensic doctor asked.

"The human body also produces hydrogen peroxide through metabolism, but it is balanced by catalase."

If the human body absorbs so much hydrogen peroxide in a short period of time, there will be a big problem.

As oxygen levels in the blood increase, it eventually crosses the blood-brain barrier and accumulates in the brain. Since the brain is a closed system, these excess oxygen bubbles can compress brain tissue, causing cerebral ischemia and potentially resulting in permanent brain damage.

"I estimate that 100ml can cause death. In the cases I've encountered, someone was given 500ml, and they definitely didn't recover. This deceased person probably drank at least 1000ml of low-concentration hydrogen peroxide, or 500ml of high-concentration hydrogen peroxide."

With Xiao Yang's explanation, Luo Hao had a better understanding of the situation and began to contact outsiders.

Sure enough, the expedited pathology report supported this claim.

The criminal investigation team acted effectively, found the relevant people, and arrested them all within 10 minutes of entering the premises.

The alarm was lifted, and Luo Hao was both amused and exasperated.

My brain is frozen solid; all I can think of is that it might be related to prions or other viruses.

As for accumulating a large amount of oxygen in a short period of time and leaving it in the brain through the blood-brain barrier, this was something Luo Hao hadn't expected.

Still not right, Luo Hao thought for a long time.

Hydrogen peroxide is frequently used in clinical settings, especially when the doctors were young. Back then, when encountering contaminated surgical areas, such as intestinal rupture, hydrogen peroxide or iodine solution was used for disinfection.

Similar situations should occur, so why is there no relevant information in the medical record database?

After Luo Hao received the results, he changed his clothes and went out, but he didn't contact Boss Zhou immediately, since it was already late and he would have to wait until tomorrow.

"Xiao Luo, what do you think about this?" Feng Zixuan said, somewhat embarrassed.

Professor Luo rushed in without hesitation, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding, and Feng Zixuan felt very apologetic.

"Hehe, that's normal. I've certainly broadened my horizons."

"Xiao Luo, your method of calling in reinforcements is truly brilliant," Zhuang Yongqiang exclaimed.

He had already heard about the entire autopsy process. The most important point was that Luo Hao had found a forensic doctor who graduated from Peking Union Medical College, and that senior brother Liang, based on his own guess, had found a forensic doctor from the "high-incidence area".

"The rule at my Peking Union Medical College Hospital is that if you don't understand something, you have to call in someone," Luo Hao laughed. "There's nothing shameful about it, as long as it solves the problem."

Zhuang Yongqiang was somewhat moved.

Xiao Luo is amazing, incredibly amazing, not only because of his own abilities, but also because of the towering mountain behind Luo Hao.

Is there anything Luo Hao can't solve? At least Zhuang Yongqiang doesn't know.

Take today's incident, for example; it terrified everyone. Seeing the brain turn into a frozen tofu-like shape, everyone in the medical field suspected it was a prion.

Everyone had only heard of prions; no one had ever actually seen one. But that cheese-like brain tissue—everyone had only one explanation. If anything more, it was that the US had created a new virus.

Unexpectedly, it was a hydrogen peroxide enema...

This blunder left everyone both amused and exasperated, and Zhuang Yongqiang still feels a bit uneasy. He had been prepared to be infected and thrown into quarantine.

He even prepared for his own brain to turn into frozen tofu.

"It's alright, it's alright," Zhuang Yongqiang comforted himself.

He spoke a few words with Luo Hao and then left. Luo Hao is indeed a good friend; he's truly there for you when something happens.

It seems like a misunderstanding now, but at the time it could very well have been a life-or-death separation.

By the time they all left, it was already past three in the morning. The wind was a bit cold, and Feng Zixuan shivered.

"Get in my car," Luo Hao said with a smile.

"Xiao Luo, you're really something!" Feng Zixuan said.

"Not really. What can I do if I don't go? Others can't handle it either," Luo Hao said honestly.

"But your ability to call for backup is really impressive." Feng Zixuan laughed.

“That’s right, I’m a professional in this area,” Luo Hao said. “Director Feng, you must be very anxious.”

"Sigh, I even thought about writing a will back then."

Feng Zixuan spoke the truth.

"It's not that bad, it's not that bad." Luo Hao smiled and gently patted Feng Zixuan's shoulder.

(End of this chapter)