CHAPTER 212: CASE 212 SOLVED

"Dr. Liu, there’s a situation that I’m quite hesitant about," Huang Ying said after leading Liu Banxia aside.

"From my years of experience, this patient’s miscarriage might have been caused by medication. However, after talking with her at length, her demeanor suggested she was more intent on keeping the baby than aborting it."

Upon hearing this, Liu Banxia frowned. If that was the case, this was going to become a big deal.

The miscarriage could have been caused by either accidental ingestion of medication or by someone intentionally administering drugs. If it was the latter, this could escalate to a criminal matter.

"Doctor Huang, can this be determined from the blood test results?" Liu Banxia asked.

Huang Ying shook her head. "It’s hard to distinguish a drug-induced miscarriage from a natural one. This is just my intuition today. I’ve been doing this for over a decade; my intuition seldom fails."

"I’ve encountered similar situations before. Some patients who don’t want to keep the baby secretly take pills, even when their families want them to. Today’s patient seemed out of the ordinary, so I spent extra time talking to her."

Liu Banxia pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, let me figure out what to do with this. Such a mess. How did you handle such situations before?"

"This is my first time encountering something like this, and it’s really difficult to deal with," Huang Ying said after a moment’s thought.

"If we suggest the patient undergo more detailed tests, it could cause misunderstandings. But with the current data, all I can do is infer. I don’t dare to tell the patient outright."

Liu Banxia nodded. He understood Huang Ying’s concerns and shared them.

Similar incidents had been happening frequently over the years. There was even a saying that circulated on the internet: "Thank your dorm mates for sparing your life."

Chen Na’s living situation is complex, making it difficult to assess and define at the moment. After all, without solid data, you can’t just tell a patient it’s mere intuition.

After a slight hesitation, Liu Banxia took Qiaoqiao aside. "What’s Chen Na’s relationship with everyone at your place? Has she ever had conflict with anyone?"

Qiaoqiao blinked in surprise, then shook her head. "No, our technicians all earn their living by their skills. Aside from some regular clients who choose their preferred technician, everyone else is assigned on a rotating basis. Why are you asking this?"

Without hiding anything, Liu Banxia shared Huang Ying’s speculation with her. "Maybe you could contact them and subtly inquire. There might be some things you aren’t aware of."

His words alarmed Qiaoqiao. This is no ordinary situation; it could end with someone going to jail.

A couple of minutes later, Qiaoqiao put down her phone. "I asked around. They didn’t even know that Chen Na was pregnant. How could they have given her any pills?"

"Uh... so that’s the case. They would have to know she was pregnant to give her the pills... Hmm..." Liu Banxia was at a loss for words.

"Crap, I knew it..."

"Qiaoqiao, keep it down for now." Seeing Qiaoqiao about to explode, Liu Banxia swiftly covered her mouth.

Their interaction started to attract attention from others, who were quite curious. Some people even knew Qiaoqiao. However, the usual crowd of curious newcomers was a bit confused about the situation, which only made them more intrigued.

"Don’t talk for now; we’re only guessing at the moment. What if we got it wrong?" Liu Banxia said helplessly.

"What are we going to do then? Let Nana just suffer this undeservedly? And what about later? Should she continue being with such an ungrateful wretch?" Qiaoqiao asked angrily.

"You sure have a hot temper. I’m trying to think of a solution, aren’t I? I’ll consult Doctor Huang again. Don’t worry, I’ve got this," Liu Banxia reassured her.

"What are you going to do? Call for backup? You just calm down. I’m confiscating your phone for now. Doctor Liang, Qing Kewa, you two watch her. Make sure she stays here and behaves."

Liang Xiaolin and Qing Kewa were both a bit unsure of what was happening. But since it was Liu Banxia’s order, they had to keep Qiaoqiao in place. This left Qiaoqiao feeling quite helpless; standing much shorter than those around her, she felt like a small prisoner.

"Doctor Huang, is it possible to ingest such abortion-inducing drugs by accident? For example, if someone originally intended them for contraception," Liu Banxia asked.

"That’s not possible. She knows she’s pregnant, so why would she need contraceptives?... Oh! That’s what you were talking about," Huang Ying said, startled by her own realization.

"Indeed. We all overlooked one issue: to decide on an abortion, one must first know they’re pregnant," Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.

"She’s an employee at my friend’s company, and none of her coworkers even knew about the pregnancy. So, it’s almost certain now: either she took the pills herself and, as you said, didn’t want anyone to find out, so she chose to hide it..."

"...or her boyfriend, after learning about the pregnancy, didn’t want the child and secretly administered the drug to her. But right now, it’s really hard to determine. This whole thing is a real headache."

"What on earth is going on? We’re doctors, why are we playing detective?" Huang Ying said with a wry laugh.

"I can’t make a judgment right now. It’s also possible that after taking the drug, she regretted it and wanted to keep the baby. Cases like this aren’t unheard of; maternal instincts can be quite complex."

"Well, let’s separate them first and then confirm with the patient in detail. If she still insists, then I’ll probe her boyfriend a bit," Liu Banxia said after a moment’s thought.

Huang Ying nodded. For now, this was the only way to handle it.

Even though this situation could be dismissed by simply pretending such thoughts never occurred, muddling through it, that wouldn’t be right. Let’s just say we’re meddling this one time.

"Family members of the patient, please step out for a moment. We need to run further tests. After all, this is the Emergency Department, not Obstetrics and Gynecology; we don’t have specialized equipment," Liu Banxia said after entering the treatment room.

"Nana, don’t be afraid. No matter what, I’ll be with you," the man in glasses said, wiping the tears from Nana’s face.

Liu Banxia gave Huang Ying a glance, then followed the man with glasses out of the room.

In about five or six minutes, Huang Ying came out. "Dr. Liu, we’ve completed the sampling. We’re sending it for analysis now; the results will be ready soon."

Liu Banxia nodded, feigning indifference. "Alright, thank you for your trouble, Doctor Huang."

"What are you analyzing, Doctor? Nana has already agreed to the surgery. It won’t affect her ability to have children in the future, right?" the man with the glasses asked.

"We mainly want to analyze if Nana accidentally consumed something that caused this miscarriage," Liu Banxia said.

"She’s feeling very conflicted right now. If we don’t help her find the reason, this incident will haunt her for the rest of her life. So many people suffer from depression these days, and something like this could plant the seeds of future distress."

"Well... can it be detected? If she avoids eating erratically and maintains a normal diet, can this be avoided in the future?" the man with glasses asked.

"It can absolutely be detected. With medical science as advanced as it is, drug components have half-lives. As long as they haven’t completely metabolized, we can find their chemical signatures," Liu Banxia stated.

"You can rest assured. Although this will incur additional testing fees, it can ensure your safety in the future. Food isn’t always safe these days, especially many packaged foods, which contain numerous additives."

"There are too many unscrupulous businesses nowadays. We’re concerned that some vendors might illegally add drugs to certain foods. For example, mifepristone, a drug that can induce abortion, but it also needs to be used in conjunction with misoprostol."

"However, we cannot confirm if this is the cause for now. We don’t dare to give her medication rashly, or it could be dangerous."

"Then... if that’s the case, what could be the danger? Isn’t she going to have an abortion anyway?" A layer of fine sweat beaded on the forehead of the man with glasses.

Actually, during the questioning just now, Liu Banxia had already confirmed it was him.

He had encountered too many patients’ family members. In situations like this, few would ask such comprehensive questions; they usually just did whatever the doctors advised.

Because their primary concern was the patient, how could they think of other things? Their utmost concern was ensuring the patient received the best possible treatment and care.

"It mainly depends on the dosage. If the dose is small, it’s fine even without taking misoprostol," Liu Banxia said earnestly.

"To put it simply, it’s like neutralizing a toxin. Otherwise, even if an abortion procedure is performed, if there’s an excessive amount of abortion-inducing drugs in the patient’s system, it can cause coagulation disorders and potentially lead to massive bleeding during the operation."

As he spoke, he feigned nonchalance while surreptitiously glancing at the man’s expression. Not only was his forehead sweating, but his face was also visibly tense.

"Oh, right, Doctor, I haven’t completed Nana’s admission procedures yet. Should I go register and pay the fees first? How much will it be?" the man with glasses asked.

"No need. Her boss is here and has already taken care of it for her. You can just give the money to her boss later," Liu Banxia said.

"Damn it, I really can’t stand it anymore!" Qiaoqiao, who was nearby, finally exploded.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You got Nana pregnant! Even if you didn’t want the baby, you could have talked to Nana properly! Why the hell did you drug her?"

"You just wait. This isn’t over! You harmed my girl, so I’ll find someone to harm you too! I don’t care about any investigation results; now that I’ve singled you out, don’t even think about running!"

Qiaoqiao’s voice was not quiet, and it instantly drew the attention of everyone in the emergency room.

"You... you... how can you slander people like that?!" the man with glasses exclaimed, flustered.

"Tell me... was it you? Why have you been giving me so much freshly squeezed juice these past two days? Didn’t you say it was good to have a baby, that you could finally divorce her?" Nana interjected, having walked out of the treatment room.

"Nana, it’s all nonsense they’re spouting! I didn’t do anything!" the man with glasses said anxiously.

Liu Banxia and Huang Ying exchanged a look. Case closed. It was definitely this man in glasses. Nana’s words had revealed a lot, hadn’t they? One could easily grasp the psychological dynamics.

Drinking fresh juice frequently these past two days—wasn’t that just to mask the taste of the medicine?