Chapter 3146: 2941 Same condition, different symptoms

2941 Same condition, different symptoms.

"Zheng Lao Ban, the results are out."

More than ten minutes later, Zheng Ren was still with his arms crossed, looking at last year's CT scan labeled 'Phase Contrast', when Zhou Litao came in and said.

"Pulmonary function shows FEV, FEV/FVC, PEF, MMEF, V75, V50, V25 severely decreased; the patient has severe obstructive ventilatory dysfunction, with major and minor airway airflow severely impaired, airway obstruction reversibility low, bronchodilator test negative." Zhou Litao said.

"How can it be so serious?" Su Yun frowned.

Originally he suspected that maybe Qiao Jie's lover was deliberately feigning illness to avoid something, but symptoms could be faked, and the possibility of falsifying objective tests is not high.

"I'll go ask Qiao Jie." Zheng Ren said, immediately standing up after hearing Zhou Litao report the test results.

"Do you suspect there's another problem?" Su Yun asked, "Um... cricoid cartilage?"

"It could be caused by the cricoid cartilage." Zheng Ren nodded.

After over a year of tacit understanding, plus Su Yun, who although didn't have cheats, nevertheless had a brain like someone who did, solid basic knowledge and clinical experience, he instantly guessed what his boss was thinking.

Outside the resuscitation room, Qiao Jie silently stared at the floor, while Zhuang Yongzhi and the head nurse of the operating room sat silently beside her, apparently not knowing how to comfort them. In the end, everyone remained silent, using companionship as solace.

Everyone felt the same; when faced with this situation, they couldn't speak, couldn't advise, and just pretended it didn't exist. As long as Qiao Jie was unharmed, everything else could be discussed.

"Qiao Jie." Zheng Ren walked up to Qiao Liyan and said in a low voice.

"Zheng Lao Ban, thank you for the trouble." Qiao Jie didn't lift her head, but spoke softly.

"Does your loved one usually have any minor ailments?" Zheng Ren asked, then hesitated a moment. Asking about medical history is taboo when it's leading, such as when the doctor already has a certain judgment and then starts to fabricate symptoms according to the condition, questioning the patient's family.

But then Zheng Ren realized, he had Big Pig Trotter, he had the future tech's Xitong Diagnosis, so it shouldn't matter much with leading questioning.

Qiao Liyan didn't understand Zheng Ren's words; she lifted her head, looking at him blankly, not knowing what he meant.

"What I mean is, does your loved one often have ear pain, or... pain and swelling in both hands and feet joints?"

"He was previously diagnosed with gout; his right thumb often swells, and the pain is obvious." Qiao Jie replied, "His ears... occasionally he says they hurt; each time I gently rub them, and it eases a bit within about twenty minutes. The frequency is roughly once a month."

When saying this, Qiao Jie's eyes suddenly lit up.

That was tears, Zheng Ren knew.

Life's little moments were shattered like that; recalling what used to be a warm scene now seems somewhat absurd.

He couldn't bear to watch Qiao Jie's emotional changes, so he quickly said, "I'll do a fiber bronchoscope on your loved one to take a look; now we have some clues, let's confirm. Su Yun, explain to Qiao Jie the possible complications, since doing this now still carries risk."

After saying that, Zheng Ren rushed into the resuscitation room, leaving Su Yun outside to communicate with Qiao Jie.

Zhou Litao had already prepared the fiber bronchoscope; he followed behind Zheng Ren and whispered, "Zheng Lao Ban, what disease do you suspect?"

"No prior history, sudden asthma; I saw from last year's images that the trachea and bronchi were thickened. Plus Qiao Jie said the patient's right thumb is swollen and his ears hurt, so I suspect relapsing polychondritis."

Relapsing polychondritis is a rare disease affecting multiple systems throughout the body, characterized by recurrent episodes of progressive inflammatory destructive lesions involving cartilage and other connective tissues, including ears, nose, eyes, joints, respiratory tract, and cardiovascular system, etc.

Clinically it presents as cartilage inflammation of the ears, nose, and respiratory tract, accompanied by symptoms involving organs such as the ears and vestibular system.

Zhou Litao originally thought the patient's asthma was due to cold weather plus emotional agitation, but he didn't expect Zheng Lao Ban to actually give such a diagnosis.

"This disease is uncommon; I've only seen two cases, and that was during my internship." Zhou Litao said, "One patient frequently experienced dizziness, initially had various diagnoses, and treatment effects were mediocre. Finally, an old expert was present, diagnosed it as relapsing polychondritis. Back then we didn't believe it, but later the test results came back and proved him correct."

Dizziness and asthma—two symptoms that seem unrelated—actually stem from the same disease. Zheng Ren nodded, chatting with Zhou Litao about relapsing polychondritis while waiting for Su Yun's communication results.

Even if they are patients' families from our hospital, procedures must be complete. Who knows how many times this has happened; therefore, the more it involves our own hospital, the more careful we must be—never let good intentions cause harm.

The patient's wheezing had eased under medication, blood oxygen saturation hovered around 95%, but he lay on the stretcher with eyes tightly closed; only the faint movement of the eyeballs could be observed through the eyelids.

Zheng Ren slightly shook his head; this matter really is hard to say. Thinking about it now, it's still difficult to understand—never mind, we'll talk about the couple's affairs later.

As for myself, I still need to do what a doctor should: make his diagnosis clear, then treat accordingly.

Professional demands prohibit mixing in too much emotion; Zheng Ren inspected the fiber bronchoscope's equipment while calculating what images he might see upon entering.

He didn't go into the system operating room to take a look first; it's just a check, so there's no need to waste training time. Although he's relatively free now, Xiao Shitou, that 'big spender,' is still waiting for him.

Lung transplant—saying it's not difficult is a joke. Organ transplants are major undertakings, and since Xiao Shitou's condition is average, the surgery's difficulty is even greater.

Furthermore, the lung is 3D-printed; there are countless things to do before and after surgery, and the surgical training time he has saved may not be enough.

A few minutes later, Su Yun walked in and said, "Boss, go ahead; Qiao Jie is signing the consent form, she agrees to the emergency check of the trachea."

"Have you explained everything clearly?" Zheng Ren asked.

"Yes, explained clearly. Laid it out bluntly, Qiao Jie agreed."

While Su Yun was speaking, Zheng Ren noticed the patient's eyelid twitching frequency had increased greatly; he seemed a bit fearful, but the force keeping his eyes shut was immense—likely he was suppressing fear in his mind, still avoiding reality.

"Hey, wake up, stop pretending to sleep, we need to do the exam!" Su Yun's attitude was extremely impatient; he slapped Qiao Jie's lover's arm and shouted loudly.

Su Yun's attitude was clearly somewhat irritable, and Zheng Ren sighed helplessly.