Chapter 504: 504 speechless blast injury patients

Rhabdomyolysis might have posed some treatment challenges when it first became prevalent, but for modern hospitals, a standard treatment protocol is largely in place. The primary goal is to protect the kidneys. For this patient, as Liu Banxia said, hemodialysis and adjusting the electrolyte balance would solve the problem.

While the patient’s son waited outside the ICU, he searched on his phone and made numerous calls, but ultimately, the hospital received no related complaints from him.

“Teacher Liu, a patient with a right-hand explosion injury is on his way. He blew off his fingers setting off firecrackers; only his thumb remains,” the dispatch nurse called out.

“Well… just call Doctor Wu directly,” Liu Banxia said helplessly. “I’m quite curious, though. How did it explode? Did he grab a lit firework?”

No one could answer his question. He wasn’t the only one curious; others were too.

In fact, they had treated a few patients injured by firecrackers in the past couple of days, but compared to this incoming patient, their injuries were minor.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the ambulance stopped at the entrance of the emergency center. Despite his hand injury, the patient was able to walk in with the paramedics.

“We found three intact fingers and one that was crushed. His vital signs are stable. Hemostatic and analgesic treatments were administered on site,” the paramedic reported.

“Send him to the trauma room first and get an X-ray of his hand. I’ll examine these fingers now,” Wu Mingyu said, taking the container holding the severed fingers.

Liu Banxia also leaned over for a closer look.

There were four fingers in total. One of them was so crushed it was beyond saving. The other three looked like they might be salvageable, but a closer examination of the wound surfaces revealed severe damage to the phalanges within. Moreover, this was an explosion injury; much of the surrounding skin and flesh had been burned away, becoming necrotic tissue.

“Reattachment is impossible. The explosion damage is too severe; many bone fragments were likely obliterated. We’ll have to proceed with amputation. I’ll go talk to the patient. Contact the operating room. Whoever wants to observe can come on their own,” Wu Mingyu stated before heading into the trauma room.

The last sentence was directed at the interns; this was a basic orthopedic surgery. Fingers or toes often get injured in daily life, and severe cases require amputation.

The interns glanced at Liu Banxia. Seeing no further instructions from him, they eagerly hurried after Wu Mingyu.

“How did this patient manage to blow up his hand like that? Did he really hold onto a lit firework?” Liu Banxia asked the paramedic.

“Take a wild guess. Let your imagination run free,” the paramedic replied solemnly.

Liu Banxia racked his brains but still shook his head; he truly couldn’t imagine what kind of explosion could mangle a hand so badly. He also examined the patient’s injured hand. The damage to the palm wasn’t very significant. That’s the odd thing, he mused. Even if you were holding a bomb and it blew off your fingers, how could your palm be largely unharmed? Is that even possible?

“A ’two-kick’,” the paramedic hinted.

“If it was that, wouldn’t it affect the thumb and index finger at most?” Liu Banxia asked in surprise.

“What if he held one between each pair of fingers?” the paramedic revealed the answer.

“What the hell?” Liu Banxia was stunned. After exclaiming, he held out his own right hand, mimicking the action. It seems the spaces beside the thumb and pinky finger might be wide enough, he pondered, but how much of a gap could be forced between the index, middle, and ring fingers?

“That’s right. He had them clamped tightly between his fingers. Only one actually launched; the other three exploded in succession in his hand. As he thrashed his hand about, it seems one of those also flew into someone’s shop, damaging some snacks, though luckily, no one was hurt,” the paramedic explained.

“I… I’m truly at a loss for words,” Liu Banxia shook his head. “’A real man needs no explanation,’ huh?”

“By the way, starting tonight, if you have time when you pass by, come over for some dumplings. We’ll be serving them through New Year’s Day.”

“Oh, President Liu, are you serious?” the paramedic asked curiously.

“I wouldn’t joke about this. Our canteen has already started making them,” Liu Banxia said with a smile. “Chive and egg filling, and pork and cabbage filling. Later, we’ll see if we can get a few nurses to help out too. Otherwise, with so many people, we really won’t be able to make enough.”

“Haha, thank you, President Liu! I’ll tell the others when I get back,” the paramedic said with a laugh.

“You can also call ahead, and we’ll cook the dumplings for you. If you’re caught up with an incident, you can at least grab a bite in the ambulance,” Liu Banxia advised.

“Don’t worry, if we’re passing by, we won’t miss it,” the paramedic nodded, then left.

Many ambulances were from the city’s emergency center, and they often worked together. They were comrades on the same front line. This was a peak time for accidents; incidents like alcohol-fueled brawls and firework injuries would surge. Who had time to eat then?

“What do you think that patient was thinking at the time?” Wei Yuan asked curiously.

Liu Banxia shook his head. “Honestly, I can’t be sure. It was probably some kind of bet. He’s lost the use of a hand. Life is going to be very difficult for him from now on.”

Wei Yuan was still filled with emotion. Sometimes, when the hospital saw a large number of patients, one truly encountered all sorts of bizarre reasons for their injuries. And those patients often regretted it later. But at that moment, to them, it seemed like an extremely normal and correct decision. Take this recent patient, for instance. He was completely sober when he wedged those ’two-kicks’ between his fingers.

Even though he was a doctor, Wei Yuan thought, the mere image of that scene sent a shiver down his spine. That experience must have been truly awful.

Everyone had dumplings for dinner. They had started making them a day early because Zhou Qiang wanted to promote the cafeteria. Zhou Qiang had invested heavily, hoping to secure the contract for the cafeteria in the future.

“How are they? Do they taste alright?” Zhou Qiang asked with a smile.

“Not bad at all,” Liu Banxia replied. “But tomorrow is the main event. Lunch and dinner, two rounds each. I sent you the duty roster earlier. You have to take good care of our emergency center staff.”

“What’s there to worry about? Even if things get hectic, I’ll personally deliver them if I have to,” Zhou Qiang declared, patting his chest.

“This service is absolutely top-notch! So, you’re planning to spend New Year’s here this year?” Liu Banxia asked.

“That’s the only way,” Zhou Qiang said. “Actually, we’ve spent the last two New Year’s here. Others don’t want to stay even with overtime pay, so it’s better for our whole family to pitch in.”

“It’s tough work indeed,” Liu Banxia said. “You should get back to it. We still have to change shifts after we finish eating. The dumplings are really good. I’ll have to come back for more for a late-night snack.”

“As long as you enjoy them, the effort wasn’t wasted,” Zhou Qiang said with a smile.

Liu Banxia and the others were already used to spending New Year’s in the hospital. For some of the medical and nursing interns, however, this was a first-time experience. But no one was there to offer psychological counseling or anything of the sort. They simply had to get used to it, because next year would be the same.

After eating their fill, they returned to the emergency center. It was currently a “period of peace”; they estimated the rush of patients would start after dark.

“Pretty good, the acidosis has been corrected,” Wei Yuan reported after visiting the ICU. “But they asked me if those medicinal pills caused it. I couldn’t give them a definitive answer. Their only option is to send the pills to a professional laboratory for testing. Nobody can say for sure about this.”

“The patient’s son?” Liu Banxia asked with a smile.

Wei Yuan nodded. “His attitude is much better now. He was just a bit agitated at the time. It was likely because there’s so much negative press about hospitals online that he jumped to conclusions.”

“Sigh… If he’d been this concerned from the start, he should have paid more attention to the patient’s well-being,” Liu Banxia shook his head. “He’s been taking them for so long; I find it hard to believe his family knew nothing about it. Taking pills from an unknown source like that… that takes some serious guts. Go investigate. This collapse might very well be the combined result of hyperglycemia and rhabdomyolysis.”

“When it comes to traditional Chinese medicine, it’s really hard to say. Some remedies are genuinely effective. The fear is encountering quacks who create fake remedies by adulterating them with Western pharmaceuticals. When these kinds of pills are made, how can the dosage be properly controlled? A little more or a little less—it’s always a risk.”

Wei Yuan nodded; that was indeed a strong possibility. However, the etiology of rhabdomyolysis is truly complex and often inexplicable.

“Teacher Liu, car accident victims, two of them! The driver is critically injured, with suspected thoracic hemorrhage and a skull fracture,” the dispatch nurse called out at that moment.

“Notify the director, Dr. Chen, and neurosurgery,” Liu Banxia ordered.

The dispatch nurse paused for a moment. She understood calling Dr. Chen, but the director too?

“Relax,” Liu Banxia said. “The director himself said he’d personally participate in emergency admissions from tonight until New Year’s Day. With injuries this severe, there’s likely abdominal trauma as well. It’s perfect for those two.”

The dispatch nurse nodded with a smile. Without Liu Banxia’s added explanation, she wouldn’t have dared to make that call.

“Prepare blood,” Liu Banxia said, spotting the interns approaching. “Since you all just finished in the OR, don’t worry about eating just yet. Go observe the director.”

Despite not having eaten and having to continue working, the interns were all thrilled.

“What an ungrateful bunch. So excited to operate with the director, are you?” Liu Banxia said, turning to Wei Yuan. “Shall we take the second patient then?”

Wei Yuan smiled and nodded.

“Perform well in front of the director. Don’t embarrass us,” Liu Banxia called out to the interns.

The interns paid him no mind; he wasn’t their concern. Right now, their focus was entirely on assisting the director.

Just then, the ambulance arrived. When the paramedics wheeled the gurney in, Liu Banxia sucked in a sharp breath as he got a clear look at the patient’s condition. The patient was horrifically injured. His head was lolling to the right, and there was a visible depression on the left side of his parietal bone.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep