A doctor who travels through two eras

Chapter 88 Young Doctor Questions Traditional Chinese Medicine

Sun Xiaoming's high fever has continued into the fourth day.

Jiang Meilan stood outside the glass of the intensive care unit, looking at her son lying on the hospital bed and crying until she was hoarse.

"Son, you have to work hard. You are my only child. You can't abandon me. If you leave, I won't be able to live either~~"

Sun Shu, the father, could no longer remain calm at this time. He looked coldly at Director Jin of the Surgery Department next to him and asked:
"Doctor Jin, my son only has a minor appendicitis, why is he being sent to the ICU for emergency treatment?"

Director Jin was a little embarrassed. After all, the blame should be placed on the Anesthesiology Department, but the patient was admitted to the Surgery Department, so he was the only one who represented the Surgery Department to appease the family.

"The thing is, malignant hyperthermia is a complicated disease, 70% of which is related to the patient's RYR1 gene mutation. Then, under the action of inducing drugs, the calcium ion concentration in the muscle cytoplasm increases rapidly, causing muscle contraction, heat production increases sharply, and body temperature rises rapidly.

As the body temperature rises, a large amount of lactic acid and carbon dioxide are produced, and a series of changes such as acidosis, hypoxemia, hyperkalemia, and arrhythmia occur. This condition is very, very serious and is indeed life-threatening, so you still have to sign this critical illness notice."

Sun Shu got angry immediately after hearing this:

"What do you mean? What about this acid and that potassium? I don't understand. Are you trying to shirk responsibility? Anyway, I understand what you mean. My son didn't develop well. He deserves it, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, some relatives from the Sun and Jiang families gathered around and cursed.

Director Jin was sweating, knowing that this was going to be a troublesome matter. After all, this was a 14-year-old boy, the apple of his parents and relatives' eyes. It was emotionally difficult to accept that he was in critical condition just because of appendicitis.

But no matter how hard it is to accept, this is the fact.

"Well, the patient's current condition is not what we want to see, but from a medical point of view, it is indeed the patient's own genes that are defective."

"You eat shit!"

A relative nearby couldn't help but curse:

"You just said that 70% is related to gene mutation, but that's not 30% correct, right? The other % is caused by other reasons, so why don't you talk about the reasons in this regard?"

"We came to your hospital with no reason, but now our lives are unknown. Didn't you kill us by using the wrong medication?"

"That's right, hospitals are always lying. If Xiao Ming is fine, it's fine. But if Xiao Ming is in trouble, we're not done with him!!!"

"It's definitely not over yet. My eldest brother has only one child. If Xiao Ming dies, you will have to pay for his life!!!"

"My Ming Zai!!!"

There was chaos outside the ICU. Director Jin was pushed around by the family members but he could do nothing and had to continue explaining.

In the intensive care unit, ICU director Li Ruiqi was also discussing the patient's condition with anesthesiology director Xu Huanghui and other experts.

As a doctor, they certainly don’t want their patients to die. Huadu First Hospital took Sun Xiaoming’s malignant hyperthermia very seriously and the entire hospital was trying to rescue him.

Director Xu Huanghui frowned and asked:

"Mr. Li, the patient has had a fever of 40 degrees Celsius for four days. He is in a state of delirium and has convulsions from time to time. Looking at these data, if it continues, he will die of circulatory failure. Can your ICU handle this?"

Xu Huanghui is a female doctor, and she tends to be more direct with male colleagues of the same age. Li Ruiqi was also at a loss whether to laugh or cry:
"Old Xu, what you said is right. I have given priority to your patient. Look, the two best doctors in our department are guarding your bed 24 hours a day. How much more attention do you think you should pay?

Now not only is the body temperature unable to be lowered, but there are also symptoms of heart failure and respiratory failure. If you look at the kidney function, renal failure is imminent. We have also used the special dantrolene injection early on, and we have thought of all the possible solutions. "

Xu Huanghui glanced at the glass of the intensive care unit. Outside the glass, the family members were arguing with Director Jin Limin.

Thinking about this huge pot that belongs to the Anesthesiology Department, she felt powerless again. If this little patient died, not only would her conscience be at fault, but it would also mean that the Anesthesiology Department's bonuses this year would be greatly reduced.

Although there is insurance to cover compensation for medical disputes, hospitals often impose heavy penalties on relevant departments and individuals. The extent of the punishment depends on how violent the patient's family members are.

It would be bad enough to cancel the evaluation of excellence and advancedness, but they also have to impose a huge fine or have all employees’ salaries deducted. Who can bear this?

So Xu Huanghui changed her usual serious look, clasped her hands together and pleaded:

"Old Li, Director Li, Brother Li, please, please don't let anything happen to this patient. He is only 14 years old and has not yet enjoyed his best years. It's too pitiful. Besides, the family can't explain this to him either."

Director Li Ruiqi also sighed:
"All the necessary medicines have been used, and the only solution left is ECMO. However, the cost of maintaining ECMO is tens of thousands of yuan a day. Whether the family members are willing to pay for it is a question. Moreover, even if ECMO is used, it is only a temporary solution and not a permanent cure.

But Huang Hui, I have another idea. Since Western medicine is powerless, why don’t you try Chinese medicine? What do you think? "

Several young doctors nearby couldn't help but question:

"Director Li, Chinese medicine? That's all a lie. What else can we do?"

"Yes, Chinese medicine is too toxic to the liver and kidneys. The patient is already in circulatory failure. I'm afraid Chinese medicine will only make the condition worse, right?"

Several young doctors were discussing the matter, and in a nutshell: they were not optimistic about traditional Chinese medicine and did not believe in Chinese medicine.

Generally speaking, doctors who graduated from regular medical schools and are engaged in clinical Western medicine do not have much faith in traditional Chinese medicine. Some of the extreme ones even equate traditional Chinese medicine with scams.

Xu Huanghui seemed to be thinking about something...

Director Li was unfazed by the young doctor's objections:

"For us doctors, the dispute between Chinese and Western medicine is meaningless. It doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it can cure diseases, it is a good cat..."

Before he could finish his words, Sun Xiaoming on the hospital bed suddenly started convulsing again. His muscles tensed, his face turned black, he foamed at the mouth, and his whole body began to shake violently.

The family members outside became even more agitated when they saw what happened, especially the child's parents, who started crying and making a fuss, almost becoming hysterical.

Xu Huanghui watched the ICU doctors immediately start the rescue, and then looked at the increasingly worse numbers on the monitor, knowing that she didn't have much choice.

So she held Li Ruiqi's hand tightly and asked anxiously:

"Old Li, let's try Chinese medicine. Who should we find? Which Chinese medicine doctor in our hospital is the best?"

Li Ruiqi thought for a moment:
"Dr. Mao Yichen of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine is a specialist in treating typhoid fever. This is a skill inherited from our ancestors. Xiao Zhang, go to the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine right away and ask Dr. Mao to come for a consultation. Tell him that this is an emergency and there is no time to delay."

(End of this chapter)