CHAPTER 487: 487 LOVELY YET HATING MILK TEA

"You’re really something, diagnosing such a condition. Your part-time internal medicine stint wasn’t in vain," Shi Lei said.

"You think it’s possible too?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Pretty much. The symptoms of this condition are easily overlooked and confused. Now, I almost want to crack your head open and see what your brain actually looks like," Shi Lei said.

"Isn’t that simple? Just give me a free cranial MRI," Liu Banxia replied, smiling.

"Get outta here, starting to get smug again. Keep a close eye on that pancreatitis patient," Shi Lei instructed.

"Boss, want to hear some good news?" Liu Banxia quickly asked.

"What good news?" Shi Lei frowned.

"Director Zhou’s promotion to Vice President is a sure thing. We’re just waiting for the official announcement," Liu Banxia said, beaming.

Shi Lei’s face didn’t show the joy Liu Banxia had expected. Instead, he looked at him amusingly. "I knew that long ago. I kept it from you because I was afraid you’d get too proud."

With that, Shi Lei clasped his hands behind his back and strolled away.

Liu Banxia was frustrated. So he was the foolish one, the last to know when everyone else already did. But it didn’t matter; it was great news, after all.

"Teacher Liu, the CT and blood routine test results are out. It is indeed acute pancreatitis," Liu Yiqing said as she walked over. "I’ve also spoken with the patient’s parents. According to them, she has no prior history of hypertension, diabetes, or heart disease. Given the current situation, should we proceed with gastrointestinal decompression, suppression of pancreatic enzyme secretion, acid suppression, and fluid replacement to see if these measures can alleviate her symptoms?"

Liu Banxia nodded. "Although we can take these measures, we also need to try and determine the cause of the patient’s sudden acute pancreatitis."

"Let’s wait for the patient to recover a bit, then we’ll ask her. I doubt we’d get much from her parents right now, especially since there are so many possible causes for acute pancreatitis."

"There are no issues with her gallbladder, so biliary acute pancreatitis has been ruled out," Liu Yiqing said.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Let’s proceed with this for now. We’ll reconvene once the blood biochemistry results are available."

Liu Yiqing quickly relayed the instructions. For the time being, this was the only emergency treatment they could provide.

"Boss, you keep an eye on things down here for a bit. I’m going upstairs to check on Tang. If everything’s still fine tomorrow morning, she can be officially discharged," Liu Banxia said.

Shi Lei nodded.

"Teacher Shi, how did Teacher Liu determine that the patient with the chronic cough has asthma?"

After Liu Banxia left, Su Wenhao and the other interns gathered around Shi Lei.

"It’s because he’s meticulous. Actually, he already hinted at it when he was explaining things to you," Shi Lei said with a smile.

"A persistent cough, treatment with multiple antibiotics for bronchitis without improvement, airway hyperresponsiveness, and severe choking cough upon exposure to irritant odors—when these four points align, we should suspect variant asthma."

"It’s not just you; even I didn’t think of it. But for now, it’s just a suspicion. We still need to wait for the patient to recover a little more to make a definitive diagnosis."

"This also illustrates the diversity of asthma. For this patient, coughing is the sole symptom. However, it typically affects children and women over fifty; it’s relatively rare in men."

"He doesn’t just flip through medical records for fun or out of curiosity. He commits all this information to memory and applies it flexibly."

"I have to learn from him in this regard, and you all should too. Don’t be fooled by his occasional playfulness; he’s truly skilled."

The interns grimaced slightly; their thinking was still stuck on bronchitis. Just then, Wang Chao and Xu Yino emerged from the elevator.

"Ah... finally done with the surgery. What are you guys talking about?" Wang Chao asked.

"We’re discussing the patient with the cough. Did you figure out what caused it?" Huang Bo asked.

Xu Yino shook her head. "It was too difficult. I even consulted Teacher Wang Lei, but he couldn’t figure it out either."

"Teacher Liu suspects it might be asthma, and Teacher Shi thinks it’s likely," Huang Bo said.

"Cough-variant asthma? This is so frustrating! Why didn’t I think of that?" Wang Chao said dejectedly.

"Don’t be discouraged. Banxia is often ahead in these things. We just need to keep working at it," Shi Lei said, patting his shoulder.

Wang Chao nodded glumly; what Shi Lei said was true.

Liu Banxia didn’t stay upstairs for too long. He mainly reminded Tang Feifei not to let the excitement of a possible discharge tomorrow affect her rest.

Her condition tomorrow morning would be the deciding factor; otherwise, they couldn’t let her go. After all, the connection between the thyroid gland and enuresis still seemed rather tenuous at present.

Upon returning downstairs, he saw the interns looking at him with expressions that weren’t exactly friendly. He felt a bit helpless; these guys just loved to challenge authority when it wasn’t teaching time.

"Teacher Liu, these are the patient’s blood biochemistry results. It’s very dangerous," Zhou Qian said, running over before he could even get close.

Liu Banxia took the report and frowned immediately. "Has the patient’s abdominal pain eased at all?"

"Teacher Liu, not yet," Liu Yiqing replied.

"Send her to the ICU immediately. Her triglycerides are at 29.8. It’s hyperlipidemic severe acute pancreatitis. She needs plasma exchange," Liu Banxia said urgently.

Hearing Liu Banxia’s words, everyone tensed up. Liu Yiqing went to explain the situation to the patient’s parents, while Liu Banxia pushed the patient’s gurney directly towards the elevator.

A normal person’s triglyceride level is between 0.56 and 1.7. This patient’s level had surged to 29.8, nearly eighteen times the upper limit, a life-threatening situation.

"Doctor, what exactly is happening?" the patient’s parents, who had hurried into the elevator after them, asked.

"Let’s not get into explanations right now. Your daughter needs plasma exchange. The initial emergency treatment hasn’t been very effective," Liu Banxia said.

Upon arriving at the ICU, Su Hongbo heard about the patient’s extraordinarily high triglyceride value and the pancreatitis it had caused. He didn’t dare delay and immediately arranged for a plasma exchange.

This was currently the most common method, involving a thorough filtration of the patient’s plasma.

"Does your child usually eat a lot of oily food? Or perhaps she’s fond of fried foods? Meats?" Liu Banxia asked the patient’s parents outside while the procedure was underway inside.

"Her meals have certainly been richer since she came home; usually, she eats at school," the child’s mother said.

"You might not be familiar with hyperlipidemic pancreatitis, but if you watch the news often, you’ve probably seen reports about ’milky blood’," Liu Banxia said.

"Triglycerides are suspended in the blood. If the levels are too high, the blood turns milky. This can cause pancreatitis because the pancreas contains various digestive enzymes."

"However, these digestive enzymes have a triggering mechanism; they only become active once they reach the intestines. To use a simple analogy, the pancreas is like a missile silo."

"Normally, these ’missiles’—the digestive enzymes—only ’explode’ after being launched into the intestines. But in your daughter’s case, her extremely high triglyceride levels caused these enzyme ’missiles’ to start ’exploding’ before they were even launched."

"Currently, there’s no better way to treat this condition than plasma exchange. We replace the blood that’s high in triglycerides to ensure the patient’s safety."

"When you first came in, you had probably just finished eating, right? It’s possible a particular food item triggered this during digestion. That’s why we didn’t detect it during the initial blood draw. As digestion progressed, her condition worsened."

"I’ll ask the staff inside to take a photo so you can see it more clearly. We intervened relatively quickly, so there shouldn’t be any major issues."

After speaking, Liu Banxia contacted Su Hongbo. A short while later, his phone rang.

The picture on his phone showed the blood that had just been exchanged—it was milky white, the so-called "milky blood."

Ding! Emergency mission completed.

Received 100 experience points, diagnostic studies skill proficiency +150 points.

"But isn’t this disease usually found in people who are very overweight?" the patient’s father asked.

"That’s not always the case. It’s often related to diet: high sugar, high fat, overeating—anything that overwhelms the body’s ability to process can trigger it," Liu Banxia said after a moment’s thought.

"What about milk tea?" the patient’s mother suddenly asked.

"Milk tea?" Liu Banxia looked at her, a hint of resignation in his eyes.

"Most milk tea nowadays is an industrial product—high in sugar, oil, and fat. An occasional cup is fine, but if consumed regularly, it’s hard to say what might happen."

"Tonight at dinner, Qiumei was drinking milk tea. I think she brought it back from school; she makes it herself," the mother said.

"Perhaps because she hasn’t been drinking it for long, it hasn’t caused obesity. However, her blood sugar is slightly elevated, which could also be related to having eaten recently," Liu Banxia said.

"You must tell your child that even if she loves it, she has to drink it in moderation. Exceeding the body’s limits can be very dangerous. Whether it’s milk tea or carbonated drinks, kids these days drink them like water. Their bodies can’t handle it."

"You also have to be careful about her diet. For the time being, stick to light, plain foods. Even if she pulls through, her body will need time to recover."

He really didn’t know what to say about such cases. These weren’t just gluttonous children anymore. First, there was Qiu Mingyuan, who developed gout from his drinking habits, and now this girl with ’milky blood’ from milk tea.

Such conditions often occurred in families with better financial means. In recent years, the incidence of these conditions has been increasing, affecting progressively younger people.

People often downplay the risks, treating earnest advice as if it were mere background noise. By the time the condition truly manifests, it might be too late for rescue.