The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 685 No cure

"Dr. Liu, where are we going next?" Director Fang asked after dinner.

"There’s no need to rush. We have plenty of time. Let me first show you where you’ll be resting. If anything isn’t suitable, we can make adjustments," Liu Banxia replied.

Director Fang nodded. Indeed, there was no rush for that couple of hours.

Anyway, they would be staying at the Emergency Center for a while, and they couldn’t just rely on what others said about the situation. They had to see it for themselves.

When they arrived at the office prepared for them, they saw Wang Chao had tidied up the place during their lunch break, even placing some green plants by the office desk.

This was why Liu Banxia had asked Wang Chao to do this; Wang Chao had a natural knack for it.

"Director Fang, what kind of interviewing method are you planning to use?" Liu Banxia asked.

"We’ll most likely proceed somewhat randomly," Director Fang replied.

"Of course, we still need to get an overall understanding of the Emergency Center. Then we’ll edit the interview materials and produce two episodes."

"Please don’t misunderstand. To be honest, I’m not quite sure what you’re looking to see or film," Liu Banxia said. "How about this? I’ll take you around this afternoon. If you find anything interesting, you can spend more time on it."

"And please understand, because we were delayed this morning, I’ll have a lot to deal with this afternoon. I might not have much time to accompany you."

"We understand. Chief resident physicians in any hospital are very busy," Director Fang replied with a smile.

"You mentioned earlier about taking us to see something exciting. I’m quite curious about what that is. If it’s convenient, can we go see it now?"

"Haha, you’ve been thinking about that, huh? Alright, let’s go. I’ll take you to see the ’excitement.’ But it also depends on our luck; we’ll probably have to wait for a bit," Liu Banxia replied.

Director Fang and his team were very curious. Having often produced medical programs, they were quite familiar with many aspects of hospital operations. However, they couldn’t imagine what could be considered "exciting" to watch in a hospital at that moment.

In fact, the place Liu Banxia had in mind wasn’t anything extraordinary—it was just the anesthesiology department of the Emergency Center.

His intention for this interview was to highlight the unsung heroes working behind the scenes in the hospital. Often, interviews focused solely on the doctors, but Liu Banxia felt that was rather mundane; everyone had grown accustomed to it. However, it was a different story for these "unsung heroes." This included the laboratory, which had already been interviewed, and the anesthesiology department, where they were currently headed. These were just a couple of examples of the many unsung heroes in the hospital system. Liu Banxia also planned to take them to see the Disinfection and Supply Center, the nurses, the radiology department, and more. He believed that if an introduction was to be made, it had to be comprehensive.

Upon arriving at the anesthesiology department, they saw Li Liwei.

"Brother Li, are you on duty today?" Liu Banxia asked with a smile.

"Yes, they’ve all gone into surgery. Is something wrong?" Li Liwei asked, somewhat confused.

"Nothing much. This is Director Fang and his team, who are here to film the program. I’m showing them around. Are the others just starting surgery, or haven’t they finished yet? Is Wang Lei finished with his procedure?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Wang Lei is still in surgery. He and Dr. Chen Xuehai are performing a rather complex operation," Li Liwei informed him.

"Okay, that’s good. Director Fang, please wait here. You can interview Wang Lei when he’s out of surgery. I’ll get back to my work," Liu Banxia said cheerfully.

Director Fang understood Liu Banxia’s words, but he wasn’t sure what he was implying.

Liu Banxia paid no mind to his thoughts and left the anesthesiology department with his hands clasped behind his back, strolling casually.

Though he appeared somewhat nonchalant, Liu Banxia was quite confident. He knew that since he had brought Director Fang’s team here, they would surely talk to Li Liwei to understand the department’s workings while waiting. Once Wang Lei came out, they’ll have even more to film. He wasn’t sure if Director Fang had ever focused on the anesthesiology department before, but he felt it was important to show it to them.

"President Liu, things may have taken a turn for the worse," Zhang Ping said, approaching him as soon as he returned to the Emergency Center. "The patient just had a convulsion while conscious. We rushed him for an MRI scan after it subsided. There might be new developments."

"Ah... this might, surprisingly, be a good sign," Liu Banxia sighed. "Has the laboratory reported any positive bacteria cultures yet? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?"

Zhang Ping shook his head. "That’s the difficult part; we still have to wait for the results. First, let’s check the patient’s cranial condition. Perhaps there will be some new developments."

"But I’m not sure at all right now," he lamented. "I have a strong feeling this pathogen is very cunning and difficult to deal with. Even though the child is currently only showing initial symptoms, treating it will still be very challenging."

Liu Banxia’s brow furrowed as well; Zhang Ping’s concerns were valid.

The child’s symptoms were too unique, and the interval between the MRI scans wasn’t very long. Even if there were changes now, they likely wouldn’t be significant, yet the child still experienced spasms.

"Teacher Zhang, Teacher Liu, the MRI results are out. There’s mild, diffusely distributed damage to the brain’s white matter." At this moment, Wang Linping walked over, holding the MRI films with a tense expression.

Liu Banxia took the films and placed them directly on the light box, his brow deeply furrowed. "Brother Zhang, do you think this could be multiple sclerosis?"

"The optic nerve involvement and behavioral patterns are consistent. It also affects the central nervous system, and there’s a possibility of causing night terrors. But have we observed any nystagmus in the child? There’s also no vertigo, only night terrors."

"It’s hard to determine right now; the manifestations on the MRI are too minimal," Zhang Ping remarked.

"If it is multiple sclerosis, vertigo would be a very strong indicator. Although some of the child’s symptoms align, there are also many discrepancies."

"Personally, I’m still inclined to believe it’s encephalitis. Only encephalitis caused by a specific pathogen could have such a significant impact with such minimal damage."

"Spasms in a conscious state versus during sleep—those are two completely different things, aren’t they? According to our reasoning, this should be an autonomic bodily response, right?"

"Currently, the child’s other neurons are still active, but the brain seems to perceive a critical failure. It’s evident how aggressive this inflammation is; it must have already damaged many neurons."

"At present, I’ve administered conventional symptomatic treatment, such as reducing intracranial pressure and giving antibiotics. The conditions I initially suspected have almost all been ruled out. Uh... Banxia, did something suddenly occur to you?" Zhang Ping asked curiously, noticing Liu Banxia’s furrowed brow relax into a thoughtful expression.

"Brother Zhang, something just occurred to me," Liu Banxia said.

"I was in pediatrics today, and I chatted with Chen Hongyang. He said that without a medical history, many conditions aren’t easy to diagnose. However, he also leans towards our initial judgment."

Zhang Ping nodded. "What are you trying to say? Just say it directly."

"Brother Zhang, what kind of illnesses did the child often have when he was younger?" Liu Banxia asked.

"What illnesses? Respiratory infections, coughs, and the like?" Zhang Ping responded.

"What about chickenpox and measles?" Liu Banxia asked again.

Zhang Ping paused, furrowing his brow in deep thought.

"Xiao Wang, run a PCR test on the child’s cerebrospinal fluid for measles virus RNA," Zhang Ping instructed after pondering for a moment.

Wang Linping paused, surprised, then hurried off to the lab.

"Sigh... I hope I’m wrong. Anyway, I checked, and I don’t think the child has any post-measles hyperpigmentation," Liu Banxia sighed.

"That’s not certain; it also depends on the age of onset," Zhang Ping shook his head. "If it occurred during infancy, when metabolism is faster, pigmentation might not necessarily remain."

"But if it really is this disease, sigh... I don’t even know how I’m going to tell his parents. I feel it’s very likely now. What should we do?"

"I’ll wait for the results with you. Although it’s rare, if it is this, we have to face it," Liu Banxia said.

He had thought of it by chance. Perhaps there were conditions in the child’s past, like measles or chickenpox, that the father had overlooked or wasn’t aware of. From a layperson’s perspective, these were common childhood illnesses. However, if the inflammation was indeed caused by the measles virus, both he and Zhang Ping would be helpless.

The disease is called "subacute sclerosing panencephalitis," which is currently incurable, offering only symptomatic relief.

Some people are lucky, with strong immunity, and can fight it off. However, it would still likely cause some degree of brain damage, possibly affecting hearing or vision.

Liu Banxia had been planning to deal with some of his pending tasks, but the patient’s condition had completely captured his attention.

For a doctor, the most distressing situation is identifying a disease for which there is no cure.

Even when Liu Yiqing came over with her classmates, they saw Liu Banxia’s current expression and didn’t dare to approach.

"Teacher Wang, Teacher Liu, the lab expedited the test. It’s positive," Wang Linping reported as he came over.

"Sigh... Brother Zhang, it’s all on you now. Go ahead," Liu Banxia sighed.

DING! Consultation completed.

Earned 200 experience points.

Zhang Ping glanced at him, grimacing. Although this child wasn’t receiving an immediate "death sentence," it didn’t make things any easier for him.

This was the power of an incurable disease. All they could rely on was the patient’s own strength.