CHAPTER 140: 140 STREPTOCOCCI?

(Thanks to book friend 20190405203527950 for the monthly ticket encouragement)

With the arrival of these people, the initially quiet Emergency Department suddenly became lively.

"Thinking back, I was once as naive as they are," Liu Banxia sighed.

"Tsk tsk, naive you certainly were, just like a greenhorn," Zhou Li added.

"Hehe, that was when I first arrived. Being a stranger in a strange land, I had to live cautiously," Liu Banxia chuckled.

"Sister Li, what did he do?" Liang Xiaolin curiously asked.

"He slept on the floor of the emergency room," Zhou Li replied.

Liang Xiaolin gave Liu Banxia a surprised glance, never expecting him to have such a colorful past.

"What choice did I have? I didn’t know how to get by in the big city. I only had a little money in my pocket, and the housing near the hospital was too expensive," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"And believe it or not, I secretly slept there for almost two months. I’m glad I didn’t impulsively rent a place nearby; it was genuinely too expensive."

"Dr. Liu, I have another question for you." At this moment, the pretty foreign young woman walked over again.

"Hello, your Chinese is very good. May I know your name?" Liu Banxia asked with a smile.

"Hello, my name is Qing Kewa," the young woman replied.

"That’s a pretty name. What did you want to ask?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Dr. Liu, would your surgical techniques be available for public learning?" Qing Kewa asked.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Of course. These aren’t complex procedures, nor are they operations that need to be kept secret."

"Thank you," Qing Kewa said, then wandered off to another area.

This left Liu Banxia a bit puzzled. Is this how all these foreigners do things?

"There will be more people this year; we’re going to be busy," Zhou Li remarked with a sigh.

Newcomers arrived every year, but the Second Hospital’s Emergency Department usually saw fewer of them. Now that the Second Hospital was increasing its investment in the Emergency Department, who knew how much the workload would increase.

Managing these newcomers wasn’t easy. One moment of carelessness, and they could stir up trouble.

"Doctor, my test results are out. Could you please take a look?" At this point, the patient who had undergone a blood test walked over, holding his report.

Liu Banxia took it and glanced over it. The report clearly showed that most values were normal; only a few were abnormal.

His hemoglobin was a bit low at 91; if it dropped any lower, it could be classified as anemia. His white blood cell count was a little high, suggesting some inflammation. His platelet count was also slightly elevated.

"Doctor, do I just have a cold?" the patient asked.

"This is Dr. Wang Huan, from our internal medicine department. Let him take a look at you too," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"Do you usually have any other discomforts? You look like you’ve lost some weight since the last time you were here. You’re not trying to work out while you’re getting rabies shots, are you?"

The patient shook his head with a smile. "I don’t work out. I wouldn’t be working out even if I weren’t getting these shots. Lately, our Tiggie has been acting up, and I haven’t had much of an appetite."

"What’s the situation?" Wang Huan asked.

"This is the complete blood count. He has faint moist rales in his lungs, swollen tonsils, enlarged cervical lymph nodes, and a wound that hasn’t healed for a long time. Do you think this might be due to a streptococcal infection?" Liu Banxia asked.

Wang Huan frowned, carefully examining the patient’s wound. Then, just as Liu Banxia had during the initial consultation, he listened with a stethoscope and checked the patient’s throat.

"Doctor, you’re not going to scare me again, are you?" the patient asked, a little apprehensive.

"I still have to scare you a bit. Your symptoms do resemble a streptococcal infection," Liu Banxia nodded.

"Streptococci are widespread in nature, found in any animal’s feces and in the nasopharynx. Usually, they don’t easily cause illness. You probably cuddle with your Tiggie a lot. Given that, plus the rabies vaccine and an open wound, you might have contracted an infection."

"This bacterium is quite contagious and can cause many other conditions. For example, your wound might start to ooze pus. It could also spread along the lymphatic vessels. In fact, aren’t your cervical lymph nodes already swollen?"

"It might also cause rheumatic joint pain. Perhaps your inability to lift your arm isn’t solely due to the vaccine. If it enters the bloodstream, it could even lead to endocarditis."

"Regardless of the specific bacterium, if the conditions allow it to multiply rapidly, it can cause significant harm to the human body. However, to confirm if it’s a streptococcal infection and identify the specific strain, we need to conduct further tests."

"Because it’s highly contagious, we’ll need to disinfect this treatment room. We also need to make further arrangements for those who’ve come into contact with you just now."

"Doctor, are you saying I contracted an infectious disease?" The patient started to panic.

"It’s somewhat different from what we typically consider an infectious disease. Let’s do a rapid strep test for you shortly. For now, please stay in this treatment room and wait for the test results; that will simplify the next steps," Wang Huan said.

"And don’t worry, the cost of this test isn’t high," Liu Banxia added.

"Once the test is done, you’ll have peace of mind, it’ll save me a lot of trouble, and everyone can relax. It’s not some terrible bacterium we’re talking about. Even if you are infected, once we identify the specific strain, we’ll treat it accordingly."

The patient nodded. "Well, I’ve already had so many tests, so let’s just do it."

Liu Banxia breathed a sigh of relief. It was really difficult to convince a reluctant patient to undergo more tests. But in this situation, a diagnosis couldn’t be made without the appropriate examinations.

You couldn’t just carelessly prescribe some antibiotics and call it a day. If it really was a streptococcal infection, his family members would also need to come in for testing.

"Dr. Liang, please wait over there for the results," Liu Banxia said, handing the drawn blood sample and throat swab to Liang Xiaolin.

Liang Xiaolin nodded.

"Doctor, is it really that serious?" the patient asked curiously.

"If proper precautions are taken, it’s nothing to worry about. If not managed properly, it could become very serious. Don’t worry, though; everything will depend on the test results. There’s nothing urgent for now. Just lie on the bed and rest for a bit," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

The patient nodded, though he was clearly a bit scared.

"You have a large dog at home, right?" Liu Banxia asked with a smile.

"Yep, a Border Collie, he’s so smart. He only eats when told and even brings his bowl over when he wants food. The only thing is, he loves to run when we’re outside, so he’s a bit of a handful to walk—I can’t keep up with him." As soon as he started talking about his dog, the patient’s spirits visibly lifted.

"Haha, a friend of mine has an Alaskan Malamute. He also walks it when there are fewer people around," Liu Banxia said.

"That’s how it has to be. If you let him really cut loose, it just turns into a wrestling match," the patient said.

This opened up the conversation, making the patient forget he was waiting for test results. But it was clear that the patient truly adored his dog.