CHAPTER 143: 143 DRUNKEN PATIENTS ARE THE MOST TROUBLESOME

"President Liu, what are your plans for tonight?" Wang Chao asked, approaching him.

"Are you planning to join the emergency room or something?" Liu Banxia asked curiously.

"Heh heh, I’ve actually been mulling it over. So, I’m planning to ride your coattails; you’re the influential one here, so you call the shots," Wang Chao said with a grin.

"Well, then come on over. If there’s an emergency tonight, you and Liang Xiaolin will take the lead. Fair enough?" Liu Banxia said, smiling cheerfully.

Wang Chao looked exasperated. "President Liu, let’s not take such big steps all at once."

"What a chicken. After all this time I’ve spent training you, you’re still so timid," Chen Jianxin said helplessly. "Banxia, you know this kid very well too. Tell me his shortcomings; otherwise, I’m worried he really won’t last in the emergency department."

"Alright, I’ll be direct then," Liu Banxia said after a moment’s thought. "He’s actually quite good overall, with a solid foundation. But his main weakness is also very clear: he panics easily when things get intense."

"In that respect, he’s similar to Doctor Liang. She always worries her emergency measures will cause secondary harm to the patient and hesitates to act. Chao, on the other hand, dares to try. However, sometimes he overthinks things and ends up not knowing what to do."

Chen Jianxin gave a thumbs up. "That’s exactly his problem. He can get good training in the emergency department and overcome it. But if he doesn’t manage to overcome it, he could easily get into trouble. Anyway, if he’s really selected, you’ll have to keep a close eye on him."

"Man, hearing all this is making me feel pretty down," Wang Chao said with a grimace.

"Ha ha, this is just a transition. Everyone has to go through it," Liu Banxia laughed.

Just as they were speaking, a group of people walked in. Judging by their wobbly gaits, they had clearly had a lot to drink. Two of them were even being propped up by police officers.

"Drunk and fighting again?" Liu Banxia asked.

"They’re all together. They were having a good time drinking, then started fighting over who would pay the bill. We couldn’t stop them, and these two ended up passing out on the tables," a police officer explained.

"Alright, get them onto the beds. I trust some of you are sober enough to handle the paperwork?" Liu Banxia asked.

The others who had come along nodded, though, given their state, it was doubtful if they even understood what he was saying.

He carefully examined the two who had been carried in. Their faces were pale, and there was vomit residue at the corners of their mouths. Their pupils were slightly dilated.

"Wang Chao, Liang Xiaolin, you two take care of their wounds. They shouldn’t be too serious," Liu Banxia instructed.

"These two are in worse shape," Liu Banxia continued, referring to the unconscious ones. "They’ve vomited. Put them on monitors for continuous observation. Establish IV access. Administer Furosemide 20mg intravenously, and Naloxone 0.4mg in 20ml of 5% glucose solution."

"After they stabilize, give them 500ml of 10% glucose, 10 units of insulin, and Vitamin C. Intramuscular injections of Vitamin B1 and 100mg of Nicotinic Acid. Also, give them 800mg of Cimetidine. Even though it’s not very serious, we still need to protect their stomachs."

"When the blood test results come back, check their serum potassium levels. If it’s low, give them a 10ml Potassium Magnesium Aspartate injection. If it’s not too low, then don’t worry about it. Get some basins ready. And for those other guys, make sure they each have an empty basin or bucket to hold onto."

Ding! Patient admitted.

Experience points +100, Diagnostics skill proficiency +10.

In the summer, people loved drinking at outdoor food stalls. These intoxicated patients were often the most troublesome to handle.

Today’s group wasn’t too bad; they hadn’t drunk to an extreme. Even the two who had completely passed out were already past the excitation period. Otherwise, they might have been rampaging and damaging hospital property.

Even so, dealing with them wasn’t easy. It was still manageable now, but who knew what a mess the place would become later.

"Ah, school holidays are starting in a few days. The emergency room is going to get swamped," Chen Jianxin remarked.

"Can’t be helped," Liu Banxia said. "Kids these days mature much earlier than I did. I only started drinking in college, but now, even high school students drink regularly."

"BLECHH!"

As they were talking, the patient on the bed to the left turned his head and puked all over Wang Chao.

"Well, looks like Chao hit the jackpot today," Chen Jianxin joked.

"Ugh, this is a pain. I’ll have to go shower after I finish taping him up," Wang Chao said with a wry smile.

That was the signal. After that man vomited, the smell set off the others. Those with basins grabbed them, and those with buckets did the same.

"Watch the airways of those two patients!" Liu Banxia shouted.

This was one of the toughest parts of a healthcare worker’s job; the smell was truly awful. Did wearing a mask even help? The stench seeped right through and went straight into your nostrils anyway.

Liang Xiaolin was also gagging from the stench. Seeing Liu Banxia standing aside with an amused smile, she felt a surge of frustration. After all, under normal circumstances, Liu Banxia should have been in the thick of it too. But things were different now; Liu Banxia had been promoted, so he could just watch the spectacle.

The naloxone worked quickly, as it’s an opioid receptor antagonist that counteracts the alcohol-induced depression of the central nervous system. The two men were now slightly more awake, though still dazed and confused by their surroundings.

"You two drank too much. Just lie down quietly. If you need to use the restroom, let us know. We’ve given you Furosemide," Liu Banxia explained.

"Doctor, please don’t tell my wife! If she finds out, I’m done for," said the patient who had just vomited on Wang Chao.

"Scared now, are you? What were you thinking earlier? You’re lucky your friends were still somewhat sober. Otherwise, who knows where you’d have ended up sleeping? You could have choked on your own vomit," Liu Banxia retorted.

The patient nodded, though it was unclear whether he was more afraid of choking to death or of his wife finding out.

"All done. The wounds aren’t serious, just needed simple debridement," Liang Xiaolin reported.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Go write up the medical records. Brother Chen and I will keep an eye on things here."

"How are the rest of you feeling? Need an IV?" Liu Banxia asked, turning to the other men.

"No, we’re okay. I feel much better after throwing up. Doctor, sorry for the trouble. We’ll help clean up later," said a lanky young man.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Well, since you’re offering to clean up, I won’t bother thanking you for the mess. It’s better to drink less. Getting this drunk... did you guys just want to see everything you ate again?"

Hearing Liu Banxia’s words, the men instinctively looked down at the basins and buckets they were holding and promptly started vomiting again. GAG! BLECHH!

"Doctor, you can’t do that to us!" the lanky young man exclaimed after he finished.

"This is still better than inducing vomiting yourselves. Drink some water later. If you feel your symptoms are severe, you can also get a Furosemide injection," Liu Banxia said with a laugh.

The young man paused, then nodded. He had initially misunderstood the doctor, thinking Liu Banxia was just there to poke fun at them. Now he realized the doctor was actually trying to help.

"ACHOO!"

The young man was about to express his thanks when he let out a massive sneeze, looking at Liu Banxia with some embarrassment.