The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 635 cast net fishing

"Dr. Liu, are there any new results?"

Seeing Liu Banxia rushing back, the child’s father asked nervously.

"Can you recall if your car has recently hosted any foreign guests?" Liu Banxia asked.

The child’s father was taken aback. After thinking carefully, he shook his head. "No foreigners, they’re all from our country. Besides, I don’t go to the airport much; the competition is too fierce there. I mostly drive around the city."

Liu Banxia frowned. "Are you sure? Please think carefully again."

Still, the child’s father decisively shook his head. "If there were, I definitely wouldn’t forget. Are you saying Yanyan’s disease is a foreign one?"

"Right now, it’s merely our conjecture because we’ve never encountered symptoms similar to what Yanyan is exhibiting. We’ll proceed with further screening to see if it’s some kind of parasite," Liu Banxia said.

His brimming hope turned into disappointment, and Liu Banxia’s mood also plummeted somewhat. But currently, he couldn’t cause any more trouble for the child’s parents or put unnecessary pressure on them.

"Teacher Liu, isn’t there another possibility that one of our own nationals returned from abroad? Why didn’t you ask that?" Xu Yino asked on the way back.

"He wouldn’t be sure even if I asked him. If he remembered anyone who had been abroad, he would have definitely said so directly," Liu Banxia replied.

"Right now, this line of inquiry is just our speculation. Let’s observe until the afternoon, and then conduct tests for parasites. We also need to screen for various immunoglobulin antibodies."

"We have to diagnose the child’s illness with all our might. We’re really hoping the culture results come out quickly and give us some direction."

"However, whether the child contracted some bacteria or a parasite, or if it’s an autoimmune disease, treatment will likely take a long time, considering the current situation."

Xu Yino nodded. Illness comes abruptly like a landslide and departs slowly like a thread being drawn; even with Western medicine, many diseases still need time.

"So, there weren’t any foreign guests?" Wei Yuan asked upon their return.

"He doesn’t remember. There almost certainly weren’t any ethnically distinct foreigners; those people are usually very recognizable. Perhaps someone who traveled abroad and returned caused an indirect infection," Liu Banxia explained.

"Ah... then it’s even more like looking for a needle in a haystack. It’s hard to determine the exact time, and there’s no one with a clearly identifiable appearance to go on. How can we determine if such a possibility even exists?" Wei Yuan said with a bitter smile.

Just as Liu Banxia was about to speak, he saw Xu Yino hesitating.

"Whatever you want to say, just say it. We’re kind of having a consultation now; you also have the right to speak," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"Teacher Liu, currently, we can determine there are roughly three possibilities. First, a new kind of bacteria, possibly brought back from abroad, since we’ve never seen these symptoms before," Xu Yino began.

"Another possibility is a stress response to a parasitic infection. The last one could be an autoimmune disease, which also needs to be verified."

Liu Banxia nodded. "This is what we’ve concluded so far. Have you thought of anything else?"

"We can slowly test for parasites and autoimmune diseases. So, regarding bacteria, is it possible that a returning national was carrying a certain kind of bacteria, happened to take the child’s father’s car, and caused a cross-infection?"

"And now, we can’t ascertain if such a person even exists. Because our nationals..."

"Stop, stop. Can’t you just get to the conclusion?" Liu Banxia said helplessly.

Xu Yino smirked. "Simply put, if such a person exists and they carried the bacteria, wouldn’t they be sick by now? So, could we consult with other hospitals to see if they have similar patients?"

Wei Yuan added, "Well, Xu Yino has a point. But searching like this will be quite difficult. We’d have to check with every hospital and screen through numerous pneumonia patients."

"Yes, I also think this is a bit of a long shot. I haven’t figured out a more reliable method, so I was talking in circles," Xu Yino confessed with a bitter smile.

"We don’t have networked big data for screening, nor can we determine if this person, assuming they exist, was just making a short stopover here or is actually a resident of Binhai City."

"Everyone’s immune system is different. It might have affected the child, but this person could be perfectly fine. This idea is rather far-fetched."

"Don’t give up so easily. Even if it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, we still have to try," Liu Banxia countered.

"If we really find this person, it’s our luck, and Yanyan’s luck too. Even if we can’t find them, at least we tried our best, so we won’t regret it later."

"Think about it carefully; let’s see how we should proceed. Should we call each hospital directly? Just ask them straight out?"

"The difficulty level is quite high. In similar situations, patients might go to the emergency room, the internal medicine department, or even the cardiothoracic department," Wei Yuan pointed out.

"So, I think it’s time for Xu Yino and her fellow interns to step in," Liu Banxia said with a grin.

"Teacher Liu, are you suggesting that we have the interns in various hospitals help gather information?" Xu Yino asked curiously.

"Yes, organize it. It’d be best to connect with one person from each hospital, form a group chat, and add me. We should all discuss this matter," Liu Banxia stated.

Xu Yino gave him a wary look. "Teacher Liu, are you doing this to infiltrate our ranks, or are you genuinely searching for that possible patient?"

Liu Banxia rolled his eyes. "Of course, I’m searching for the patient. Even if I wanted to infiltrate, I’d need to join your little group. It’s pointless for me to think about the interns at other hospitals." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Besides, all of you have agreed to stay at the emergency center, so why would I need to worm my way in? It’s fine if you gossip about me behind my back; I don’t mind," he added.

Wei Yuan looked on helplessly. They were discussing a crucial issue, and these two had started to digress.

However, Liu Banxia’s method seemed somewhat feasible. There were medical interns in every hospital. If they could network all these people to cast a wide net, they might just catch something.

Moreover, Xu Yino was the only one for this task; the other students didn’t have her kind of readily available resources.

Soon, Xu Yino busied herself. She made calls and sent messages; everything she was doing looked nothing like a doctor’s job.

After more than half an hour of effort, Xu Yino finally set up the group chat and added Liu Banxia.

"Welcome, Teacher Liu!"

"Welcome, Teacher Liu!"

"Welcome, Teacher Liu!"

...

As soon as he joined, a flood of welcome messages filled the screen.

"Thank you all. I’ll have to trouble you with what comes next. The situation is quite complex. Please wait a moment; I’ll explain it using a voice message," Liu Banxia quickly typed.

"Last night, we admitted a young patient presenting with fever, respiratory distress, and abdominal bloating. Our examination found that she has bronchial edema, intestinal edema, and signs of pneumonia."

"The complete blood count showed an increased white blood cell count and a rise in the eosinophil ratio, which reached 10%. The latest blood test results aren’t out yet, so we’re not sure if it has increased further."

"Now, we need your help to check at your respective hospitals if there are any similar patients. This can be considered a joint effort among our hospitals, as we suspect this might be a cross-infection caused by a traveler returning from abroad."

"Of course, please don’t cause undue alarm; this is just our hypothesis. We need you to pay attention to patients with pneumonia-like symptoms, those with a recent history of overseas travel, or those who might have ridden in our patient’s father’s rideshare."

"In terms of symptoms, the presentation is also somewhat similar to a common cold. The child also has smooth, plaque-like rashes on her waist and back. Let’s broaden our thinking and mainly focus on patients with pneumonia and respiratory distress."

"If any patient has similar blood indicators, please pay extra attention and, if possible, contact them for an inquiry. I’ll send out the license plate number of the patient’s father’s car later. If someone took that car, it will surely be recorded in the ridesharing app."

"Another reminder: please, absolutely do not cause any panic during your inquiries. It’s best to do this discreetly; otherwise, rumors might start spreading in Binhai City."

"For now, this is just an investigation into one of our theories. I’m counting on you all. If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll thank you in person."

After a moment, everyone had finished listening to Liu Banxia’s voice message and replied with a series of ’OK’ emojis.

"This situation is making me a bit nervous. I just hope nothing goes wrong, or it will be more than I can handle," Liu Banxia sighed with relief.

"Well, it’s a relatively novel approach to collaboration. Not everyone would dare to try it, anyway," Wei Yuan said with a smile.

"What else can we do? This is all we can do for now. Seeing the child lying there makes me feel really terrible," Liu Banxia said.

Wei Yuan said, "Whether this works or not, Xu Yino deserves credit. She hasn’t slept much. Let her get some proper sleep now. I’ll call you if there’s any news."

"Okay. But don’t forget, if you really find someone, you must call me," Xu Yino reminded.

Being part of such an innovative diagnostic method was quite refreshing, and she even found it rather interesting. If she weren’t so genuinely sleepy, she wouldn’t have gone to bed at all.

The net was cast. Whether they could catch anything was now up to luck.