Chapter 686: [(686)] Discuss classmate’s case Chapter 686: [(686)] Discuss classmate’s case After dinner, Tao Zhijie took Zhao Zhaowei’s medical records and placed them on the coffee table.
The other doctors, upon seeing this, fell silent. They had been severely reprimanded by Director Tang that morning and were feeling stifled inside. They could not understand why this medical student was so difficult to manage, even more so than the average patient.
“The most difficult patients to manage are exactly those like him,” Tao Zhijie said gravely to the younger doctors, indicating that he had expected this sort of situation.
Ordinary people would never imagine that doctors treating sick doctors are the most challenging. The rationale is simple: if you don’t understand anything, you innocently follow along, just needing to obey the doctor’s orders. When doctors fall ill, they understand what’s going on, and the more they know, the more suspicious they become.
“I underestimated him,” He Guangyou admitted his negligence in this matter in the absence of Tao Zhijie, “His grandfather was also treated in our department before, but he wasn’t nearly as full of strange suspicions.”
“What is he suspicious of?”
“He doubts every word we say. We tell him, ‘We’ll give you this injection to control the infection first.’ He agrees, but then a few days later, he questions us, asking why the infection hasn’t been controlled and what sort of injection we’re giving him. I explain to him, ‘Your neutrophil count in your white blood cells has dropped, which shows the injection is working.’ But he just won’t believe it and insists we change the medication. How can we change antibiotics recklessly? A full course is necessary.”
Qiu Ruiyun interjected to add: “What he cares about is the jaundice in his body. He believes that the jaundice has to subside to indicate improvement. As for infection markers, he doesn’t value them as much. But for us doctors, of course, controlling the infection markers first is essential; we can’t allow his liver abscess to get any larger. The jaundice will subside gradually. His total bilirubin is actually not that high.”
After carefully listening to the discussion below, Tao Zhijie looked towards the two newcomers: “Xiao Song, why don’t you share your thoughts first?”
“I’ve never considered his condition to be good,” Song Xueling maintained his previous view, “His liver abscess isn’t very easy to reduce. Although small in area, there are several spots which could potentially merge into a large patch.”
“We need to investigate his abnormal lipid metabolism,”
The group listened to Talented Scholar Song’s remark, feeling as if he had said nothing new. Abnormal lipid metabolism was obvious. Zhao Zhaowei had been getting too much nutrition from an early age, overeating, leading to simple obesity. If it were secondary obesity caused by neuroendocrine issues, it would have been discovered earlier during his hospital stay. Despite this, Tao Zhijie pensively asked He Guangyou: “Have you ordered a thyroid test?”
“We checked that, and insulin levels certainly needed to be checked as well. The results didn’t show any problems,” He Guangyou responded.
“Does anyone else have any other opinions?” Tao Zhijie asked those in the group who hadn’t spoken yet.
Another attending physician in the group, He Jiuliang, who was somewhat older than He Guangyou and not in charge of Zhao Zhaowei, could only offer an opinion based on what he had just learned about the patient: “It seems to me that his condition doesn’t need to be made more complicated. The approach of Old Zhao and our initial treatment strategy is prudent, continue to control the infection, observe whether the liver abscess is shrinking, and ultimately aim for its disappearance. The jaundice will naturally subside. The patient’s emotions do need comforting. If action is to be taken, there aren’t any particularly good methods at this stage.”
“I feel that he’s anxious,” Gong Xiangbin continued, “His jaundice appeared after he started losing weight. Ultimately, it’s an issue with his temperament. Like Director Tang suggested, we should get a psychologist to talk to him.”