CHAPTER 144: A DISASTER CAUSED BY A SNEEZE

"I’m baffled; I’ve already encountered four waves of drunk patients this year," Wang Chao said, emerging after cleaning up.

"You’re luckier than I am. I’ve encountered no fewer than ten waves: two brought in by the police, five who came on their own, and three by ambulance," Liu Banxia said.

"Simple cases of alcohol poisoning are manageable. It’s much more troublesome when they have other illnesses. The two patients today are mild; some severe cases even require dialysis."

"Doctor Liu, the blood test results are out," Xu Dan said, rushing over.

Liu Banxia glanced at the results. "They really didn’t hold back on the drinks. Their blood potassium is a bit low. Give them each 10 milliliters of Potassium Magnesium Aspartate."

"Tsk, tsk. President Liu, you handle things so smoothly," Wang Chao remarked.

"Then why don’t you step up? Plenty of interns and residents will be coming to the Emergency Department. How about you mentor a few?" Liu Banxia said with a smile.

Wang Chao quickly shook his head. "I can barely manage myself, let alone others. President Liu, when the time comes, can I just stick with you?"

Liu Banxia rolled her eyes. "Stop fooling around and get back to work."

"Playing favorites... you only look out for Doctor Liang," Wang Chao muttered.

Liu Banxia was exasperated. "Are you two even on the same level? If you want to go through residency again, I wouldn’t mind."

"Haha, anyway, I’m determined to stick with you. You can’t shake me off even if you try!" Wang Chao said cheerfully.

Liu Banxia felt helpless. This guy seems even more shameless than I am! She went to check on the two patients on IV drips. Although the smell was unpleasant, their conditions were stable.

They’ll metabolize more of the alcohol soon. With proper rehydration and electrolyte adjustment, they should be fine by morning.

"Doctor, my chest hurts a bit, and I’m having some trouble breathing," the tall, slender patient said, walking over.

"Let me take a listen," Liu Banxia said, placing her stethoscope against his chest.

His breath sounds were very weak, with a faint vibratory sound.

Just then, the young man’s body swayed slightly. Liu Banxia quickly helped him lie down on a nearby hospital bed. "Doctor Liang, it’s a pneumothorax. Closed thoracic drainage for decompression. You do it."

After speaking, Liu Banxia began pre-operative preparations, sterilizing the area and injecting Lidocaine.

Liang Xiaolin was stunned. Just as with the abdominal closure during today’s surgery, she truly hadn’t expected Liu Banxia to entrust her with such a critical procedure.

"Don’t just stand there like a statue! Do you want the patient to suffocate?" Liu Banxia snapped, turning around with a stern expression as she finished injecting the Lidocaine.

"Doctor, it’s getting even harder to breathe," the tall, slender patient said with difficulty.

"Just hold on a little longer; the anesthetic will take effect soon. Do you have any history of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, or similar conditions? Any medical history, you need to tell me," Liu Banxia reassured him.

The patient struggled to shake his head. "No... none."

"Alright, almost there. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine," Liu Banxia assured him again.

After speaking, Liu Banxia stepped aside, calmly observing Liang Xiaolin.

Although Liang Xiaolin was panicking internally, seeing Liu Banxia’s calm demeanor made her feel aggrieved, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Nevertheless, the young woman opened the puncture kit, picked up the scalpel, and made an incision on the patient’s skin where Liu Banxia had sterilized it.

"Banxia, aren’t you being a bit too hard on her?" Chen Jianxin asked in a low voice.

"I have to be strict; otherwise, she’ll never dare to take the initiative. Look, isn’t the chest cavity opened quite well? The patient’s vitals have also improved significantly. As long as she successfully inserts the drainage tube, it should be fine," Liu Banxia replied with a smile.

Chen Jianxin nodded. "Doctor Liang has a solid grasp of the technical essentials, but you also need to be careful; not everyone can withstand such a trial."

"Brother Chen, you might not know this. Doctor Liang is Chen Xuehai’s girlfriend, and her fundamentals are indeed very solid. If she shows no improvement while she’s with us, what would that say about our Emergency Department’s teaching capabilities?" Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.

Chen Jianxin was taken aback; he hadn’t known about that. Even he had sensed some unspoken tension between Liu Banxia and Liang Xiaolin.

"I’m done, but the patient is bleeding a little." After securing the dressing, Liang Xiaolin looked at Liu Banxia, her eyes red-rimmed.

Liu Banxia nodded with a smile. "You did a great job. The bleeding is likely superficial, perhaps from abrasion. Let’s monitor it for now."

Liang Xiaolin glared at him, dragged a chair over, sat by the patient’s bed, and stared at the drainage bottle. She was determined to prove Liu Banxia wrong. You want me to monitor? Fine, I’ll monitor nonstop!

"Doctor, is Liangzi alright now?" The tall patient’s drinking buddy, who had been too scared to approach earlier, finally mustered the courage to come over.

He had seen everything: that long tube, thrust into the body with a sudden jab. Although Liangzi seemed to be breathing more easily now, the procedure had been terrifying.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Please contact his family. This is a disaster triggered by a sneeze, resulting in a pneumothorax. Drainage will be required for at least 20 hours, so his family needs to be here."

"Doctor, are you pulling our leg? We’ve had a few drinks, sure, but we’re not wasted. Who ever said a sneeze could cause something like this? Who would dare to sneeze then?" another young man interjected.

"You don’t believe me? Ask him if he felt a slight chest pain when he sneezed. It’s just that because he’d been drinking, his nerves were somewhat numb, so he didn’t register it at the time," Liu Banxia said, glancing at the man.

"And it’s not just sneezing. Straining too hard while defecating can also cause a pneumothorax, or even a cerebral hemorrhage. Why else do you think so many patients are found near restrooms?"

"And you really think alcohol is so great? Other than helping you ’recall’ what you just ate by bringing it all up, it has absolutely no benefits. Given how much you all drank tonight, those other two were lucky they didn’t end up dead. Your friend here is also in a bad way; it’s a good thing this happened while he was already in the hospital."

That thoroughly scared the group. After all, they had just witnessed the emergency procedure. And it was true: Liangzi’s breathing had become much easier after the tube was inserted.

"Dr. Liu, there’s non-coagulable blood in the drainage bottle, and the amount of drained gas has decreased significantly!" Liang Xiaolin suddenly called out.

"Doctor, I’m having trouble breathing again," the patient said, looking at Liu Banxia.

Liu Banxia frowned, looked at the drainage bottle, then listened again with her stethoscope. The vibratory sounds were much louder now.

"Hemopneumothorax. Likely a ruptured large bulla in the left lung. Order an urgent CT scan to assess. Notify Cardiothoracic Surgery and the OR. Prepare for surgery," Liu Banxia said, hanging the stethoscope around her neck.

"Explain the surgical details to the patient on the way. Liang Xiaolin, you go with him; he’s your patient. You’ll also go into the operating room. Even if you’re not First or Second Assist, you’ll be in there observing."

Liang Xiaolin glanced at Liu Banxia, her tear-filled eyes once again showing panic. She had never handled such responsibilities independently before, and now Liu Banxia was entrusting them all to her.