Chapter 2458: 2372 X Syndrome (Alliance Lord Bang Jin Extra Chapter 4)

A woman in her forties, face frosty, scolded as she walked in.

Beside her, slightly behind, followed a woman in her fifties, somewhat humble, head bowed, her graying hair a bit disheveled.

"Examination, examination, how many times has this been! If it weren't for seeing you raise a child still in college, I would have fired you long ago."

"Manager, I… I…" the patient muttered.

"What do you mean, you? You did over a thousand dollars' worth of tests and there's nothing wrong! What else do you have to say!" The female manager waved the film bag in her hand, making a rustling sound, as if adding evidence to her words.

"For your sake, do you know how much scolding I've endured!"

Zheng Ren glanced; the woman behind had her system panel glowing red—not feigning illness—a conspicuous diagnosis appeared on the system panel—Heart X Syndrome.

After seeing the diagnosis, Zheng Ren figured out the whole story.

The female manager ignored the employee behind her, striding toward the internal medicine consultation room in the emergency department. Her high heels clicked on the marble floor, ka-cha ka-cha, like the sound of Zheng Ren clicking a mouse.

The patient wore the hospital janitor's uniform; apparently a worker from the cleaning company. The person in front should be the manager responsible for this hospital area.

The emergency department doctor glanced at the film, went to call Zhou Litao. Zheng Ren intercepted him, saying, "Manager Zhou is busy; I'll handle it."

"Boss Zheng, thanks for the trouble." The emergency department doctor, happy to have a break, handed over all the lab tests and the film bag to Zheng Ren.

All the patient's tests were normal, but she complained of chest tightness and shortness of breath during activity, accompanied by precordial pain. This chief complaint could suggest other diseases, yet seeing the female manager's frosty expression accompanying the patient, Zheng Ren knew that mishandling it would spark a dispute.

Naturally, the farther away from such trouble the better; it's not enough trouble yet. If in the end more tests were done and still nothing found, the doctor who ordered the tests would have to face the female manager's wrath.

Zheng Ren picked up the film and gently asked, "Where do you feel uncomfortable?"

"I…"

"I feel uncomfortable whenever I work; it's laziness acting up!" The female manager said angrily.

"Let the patient speak, okay?" Zheng Ren smiled, glanced at the female manager and said.

"All tests are normal; she constantly thinks she has coronary heart disease—I think she's just neurotic."

Zheng Ren's eyebrows rose like blades; the female manager relied on the hospital for her livelihood and dared not offend powerful figures. Although logistics and frontline clinical aren't the same system, there are plenty of influential people who can move heaven and earth within the 912 li radius.

Seeing the young doctor before her, one couldn't know what abilities he had or whom he knew important. Just now the emergency department doctor looked at him with great respect, addressing Zheng Ren as Boss.

Many could be called Boss, yet not many.

The female manager swallowed her remaining words, not daring to provoke Zheng Ren, merely glaring fiercely at the patient.

"My chest feels tight, occasionally painful." The patient said helplessly: "Especially when I work, the tightness and pain worsen."

"Does the pain occur every time?"

"No, about every three to five days. I always thought it was a myocardial infarction; recently a friend of mine fell asleep at home and just… died." The patient said up to this point, seemed to feel something odd, then paused.

The female manager lifted her chin, wearing a look of disdain.

In her view, this is either typical hysteria—symptoms imagined in the mind, nonexistent—or laziness, not wanting to work.

Had it not been for her needing to support a child still in school, she would have been fired long ago. As for not being able to be a good person, putting one's nose on one's face—

"Do you feel this at night when you sleep?" Zheng Ren asked gently.

"No." The patient shook her head, bewildered.

"Any family history of hypertension or coronary heart disease?" Zheng Ren continued to ask.

"My spouse had hypertension when young, later died of cerebral hemorrhage."

Zheng Ren scratched his head, saying: "Spouse doesn't count; no blood relation. What about your parents, other relatives?"

"My father has a history of hypertension; others… my second uncle probably does too."

"And coronary heart disease?"

Zheng Ren patiently asked about the medical history; the female manager accompanying the patient showed increasing impatience on her face.

In her view, the patient was just faking illness, and Zheng Ren was merely a young doctor. Usually an old doctor would glance at the film, ask a couple of questions, and directly give a diagnosis—why ask so many details?

Besides, the emergency department sees many patients; who has time to ask so thoroughly?

After a few minutes, Zheng Ren finished taking the history and then took out the film to examine.

Actually, the cleaning company's female manager is not bad; although somewhat impatient, she at least did the required tests. Such responsibility is rare.

The patient's ECG was normal; suspecting a transient angina attack, the ECG didn't capture abnormal changes, so a 64-slice coronary CT was done as a supplementary test.

All lab results were fine; under normal circumstances a diagnosis of neurasthenia would suffice.

But Zheng Ren disagreed; after all, Big Pig Trotter had given a clear diagnosis—Heart X Syndrome.

"Have you taken nitroglycerin?" Zheng Ren asked.

"I have." The female patient also saw the manager's face worsening; she whispered sheepishly.

"How effective was it?"

"Basically no effect…" Her voice grew softer; in fact she also thought she was neurasthenic, or just as the manager said, all imagined.

But each time the pain came, its duration varied, and the pain was quite pronounced.

"Whoever feels the pain knows it, yet the tests show nothing. After many visits, even the patient herself began to doubt her own mental state. Could it really be menopause…" She started to wander in thought.

"Um… let's do an isotope scan." Zheng Ren said solemnly.

"An isotope scan? How much does it cost?" The female manager immediately flared up, looking at Zheng Ren with contempt, tinged with hatred.

Zheng Ren glanced at her; seeing that look, he wasn't angry but smiled, putting the film into its bag while pondering whether an isotope scan or an exercise treadmill test would be better.

Actually, the reliability of these diagnoses isn't particularly high; to truly confirm, one still needs an invasive coronary angiogram.

"Don't waste time; having done the 64-slice is my maximum authority." The female manager said coldly: "No problems were found; if further tests are needed, I lack authority and must report upward."

"Okay, thanks for the trouble." Zheng Ren said.

"…" The female manager looked at Zheng Ren in surprise—did he not know what he meant?!