Chapter 2570: 2576.2477 Quinine Poisoning

2576.2477 Quinine Poisoning

Lin Ge slept soundly, a stone finally fell from his heart. Zheng Lao Ban had won the Nobel Prize, yet he felt his life was already complete.

As the head of the 912 Science and Education Department, during his term he had produced a Nobel Prize–winning project; this big pie was enough to last a lifetime.

Over the past six months, every major life decision I made had been completely correct. At the time, after receiving Zhao Wenhua's phone call and preparing to give Zheng Lao Ban a little obstacle, I saw the documents that had already been filed early in the Medical Department.

It was truly fortunate; if not for that incident, I would certainly not have rushed to find Zheng Lao Ban. Just thinking about this journey's mental path, Lin Ge involuntarily drank too much in the evening.

He was sleeping soundly when his lover pushed him awake.

"Old geezer, hurry up and answer the phone." Lin Ge's lover said unhappily.

"What? A phone call? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?" Lin Ge, still half-asleep, rolled over and picked up his phone.

"You're not supposed to be at the Science and Education Department, so why are you being called for an emergency? Answering the phone at this hour—do you even let me sleep?" His lover covered her head with the blanket, expressing her dissatisfaction.

Lin Ge glanced at his phone, sat up with a start, and instantly became fully awake.

"Doctor Su, what's up?"

"What are you fussing about!" Lin Ge's lover said unhappily.

But she immediately saw Lin Ge wearing a fawning smile, as if the person on the other end of a video call or phone were standing right in front of him.

She promptly closed her mouth; Lin Ge was speaking to a leader. But then she got confused—wasn't it Doctor Su? Never mind; since he'd left, she just went back to sleep.

"What's wrong with Zheng Lao Ban?"

"Okay, okay, I'm going right away."

"Okay, okay, I'll immediately find Director Liu of the lab."

"Okay, okay, wait for my news."

Lin Ge hastily said okay, then made two more calls, changed his clothes in the process, said nothing else, and walked straight out the door.

Zheng Lao Ban actually suffered quinine poisoning…… This was something Lin Ge had never imagined despite all his calculations.

How could he just collapse like that? Lin Ge informed the lab director in a stern tone to rush to the hospital immediately; sitting in the car, he pondered for a few seconds, then called Director Yan.

For such matters, one should still show respect to the hospital leadership. Even if calling Director Yan at this hour displeases him, it's better than leaving him with the impression that I disregard superiors.

After making several calls in succession, Lin Ge then hurriedly drove to the hospital.

While driving, he thought, Zheng Lao Ban must not have anything wrong. I've hitched my wagon to his star; good days are just beginning, and my son even hopes Zheng Lao Ban will give him a boost—please don't just collapse like this.

Arriving at the hospital, he called Director Liu of the lab while trotting into the emergency observation room.

"How is Zheng Lao Ban?" Seeing Tang Haitao standing by Zheng Ren's bed, saying something, he immediately asked.

"He has slight acute liver and kidney damage, nothing serious." Zheng Ren leaned in Xie Yiren's arms, giving a faint smile as he spoke.

One could see Zheng Lao Ban's fatigue and exhaustion; his complexion was poor. But hearing his deep voice, Lin Ge inexplicably felt reassured.

If Zheng Lao Ban says it's fine, then it's fine.

"Look at how this blew up—how did you end up taking quinine?" Lin Ge said, rubbing his hands.

"In the evening, to celebrate, I drank a cocktail." Zheng Ren said this while seeming a bit dazed—what on earth is happening!

One cocktail, and it messed up his liver and kidney function.

Before this, Zheng Ren didn't know he'd react to quinine. He recalled encountering a quinine‑poisoning patient at Xilin Zhen Yiyuan Hospital; back then, holding the case file, he'd chattered away to the attending doctor there.

When it turned out to be himself, he hadn't realized it, and Zheng Ren found it especially ridiculous.

That said, he normally doesn't drink alcohol and knows nothing about cocktails. Who would have thought cocktails even contain quinine...

"Draw blood, Director Liu of the lab is already here." Lin Ge then said.

Tang Haitao called a nurse over to draw blood; he had the sample ready to send to the lab, but Lin Ge snatched it away.

"I'll handle it; you just lie down, Zheng Lao Ban. By the way, move to a VIP ward—this place is crowded and not conducive to rest."

"No need, we'll check liver and kidney function again in three hours; if there's no persistent change, we can go home." Zheng Ren said.

"Uh…… can we go home?"

"The toxic reaction from quinine exposure isn't severe for me; there's no neurological change." Zheng Ren said steadily, "No respiratory paralysis, no vision alteration—only gastrointestinal symptoms. After fluid replacement I'll be much better, no problem."

After the diagnosis was clear, Zheng Ren immediately pinpointed the problem; upon careful analysis he felt fine, and his mind settled considerably.

Lin Ge had nothing more to say; he grabbed the blood sample and ran straight to the lab.

At the fastest speed, the test results came out—sure enough, the quinine-dependent antibody was positive.

The diagnosis was clear, but Lin Ge remained quite uneasy.

When he returned to the emergency observation room, he saw Director Yan, Vice President Yuan, and Director Ye all present.

Director Yan stood beside Zheng Ren's bed, softly comforting him.

Zheng Lao Ban's request to go home was directly rejected by Director Yan—no need for Lin Ge to play the bad guy; Director Yan half‑compelled Zheng Ren to go to a VIP ward, at least for three days of observation.

Regarding this, Zheng Ren could only express helplessness. They meant well, and he understood that.

His body hadn't fully recovered; the quinine‑induced damage, the window for inducing vomiting had passed, and dialysis probably wasn't needed either. As for intravenous nitrite…… Zheng Ren instinctively resisted.

Although he's a doctor, there are some things he dares not use. Zheng Ren judged that he merely had acute injury and didn't need medication for now. In fact, with quinine poisoning the most important thing is to induce vomiting and minimize absorption.

Using drugs after symptoms appear is already too late.

Zheng Ren was also anxious, fearing his body couldn't withstand the pathological reaction. But the test results were still reassuring—at least his liver and kidney functions weren't continuously deteriorating.

Su Yun was also reliable; even when his mind was foggy, he could still spot problems. A hospital can't run on one person alone, and the medical team is the same.

At the very least, now that he's collapsed, it's not the case that no one can understand the illness.

After one day of observation, the daily blood draws and tests made Zheng Ren feel weary. Only now did he grasp the patient's feeling—each tube of blood drawn from his body made him feel as if he were losing too much blood.

No wonder patients often ask whether the hospital sells their blood; normally he didn't think about it, but lying in bed watching tube after tube of blood drawn from his body, the feeling was completely different.