148: Chapter 148 The Change in He Zhongfeng's Attitude

At 7:15 AM, Lu Chen arrived at the Red Zone on time.

Inside the refrigerator at the Nurse Station, there was indeed a bottle of milk and a piece of bread, with a sticky note attached to it.

A crooked sun was drawn on the sticky note, with four words written next to it: "Good morning, fighting!"

The handwriting was rounded, carrying a touch of childish cuteness.

Lu Chen took out the milk, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

It was cold, just right.

Meng Yan poked her head out from the Nurse Station and glanced at him.

"Did Shen Xiaoning put this here again?"

"Yeah."

"That girl is so attentive to you; do you have any idea at all?"

"I have an idea. The milk is Yili, the bread is whole wheat; she remembered me saying before that whole wheat is healthier."

Meng Yan rolled her eyes.

"Is that what I meant?"

Lu Chen tore open the bread and took a bite.

"Sister Meng, my mind doesn't have room for anything else right now."

Meng Yan looked at his serious face and sighed.

"Fine, fine, fine. You busy yourself with your work; I won't worry about this anymore."

"Thank you for your concern, Sister Meng."

"Get lost and go to the shift handover."

Lu Chen walked into the handover area with the milk and bread.

Sun Ji, who was on the night shift, was already waiting there, holding a cup of strong tea, with dark circles under his eyes.

"Brother Lu, you're here."

"Was it busy last night?"

"It was alright. At 2:00 AM, an acute alcohol poisoning patient came in, vomited all over the floor, and I spent half an hour cleaning it up."

"Were there any critical cases?"

"No, an elderly woman suspected of having an intestinal obstruction was transferred up from the Yellow Zone. I performed gastrointestinal decompression, and she is currently under observation."

Lu Chen nodded.

"Have the fluids been hung?"

"Yes, sodium lactate Ringer's solution, it's dripping now."

"Good, I'll take over."

The handover ended. Before Sun Ji left, he turned back to look at Lu Chen.

"Oh right, Brother Lu, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Section Chief He Zhongfeng came by this morning, stayed at the Nurse Station for a while, and chatted with Sister Meng. His attitude was extremely polite."

Lu Chen took a sip of milk.

"What did he come for?"

"I don't know. Anyway, before he left, he said that if the Emergency Department needs any coordination from the Medical Affairs Department in the future, we can find him at any time."

Lu Chen didn't speak.

Sun Ji continued.

"Didn't this guy always try to trip us up before? Colluding with Jiang Weibang to suppress our scores, delaying consultations with the Department of Thoracic Surgery—everyone knows about those things. Now that he's suddenly changed his tune, don't you think it's suspicious?"

"It's not suspicious."

"Why isn't it suspicious?"

"Because I performed surgery on his uncle-in-law yesterday."

Sun Ji suddenly realized and slapped his thigh.

"Oh, right, right, right! So he came to return a favor?"

"It doesn't count as returning a favor, it's just that he won't be looking for trouble for now."

"That's fine too; at least we can have some peace and quiet for a while."

Lu Chen hummed in agreement.

After Sun Ji left, Lu Chen finished the last bite of bread and threw the milk bottle into the trash can.

Then he walked to the workstation and opened that reference book on Emergency Medicine.

Today's plan was very clear.

The progress of the Basic Theory of Emergency Medicine was still a few percentage points away from the proficient level; this threshold had to be broken through as soon as possible.

The gap between the proficient level and the Skilled Level is significant. Once reaching the proficient level, the intuitive judgment of many complex diseases will have a qualitative improvement.

Relying on daily clinical practice to accumulate experience is too slow; the most effective method is still the dual approach of theoretical study combined with practical operation.

With the bonus from the enhancement card, if I don't seize the opportunity now, when will I?

At 8:30 AM, the first patient was wheeled in.

A 63-year-old elderly man with chest tightness, shortness of breath, and lower limb edema.

Lu Chen swept his eyes across him.

[Eye of Truth scan complete]

[Patient Information: Male, 63 years old]

[Chief Complaint: Chest tightness and shortness of breath for one week, aggravated with bilateral lower limb edema for three days]

[Eye of Truth Diagnosis: Acute exacerbation of chronic heart failure (NYHA Class III), moderate mitral valve regurgitation, small amount of bilateral pleural effusion]

[Risk Level: Moderate]

[Current Symptoms: Orthopnea, pitting edema of both lower limbs (++), jugular venous distension, moist rales at the base of the lungs]

[Recommendations: Diuresis, vasodilation, fluid restriction, joint management with the Cardiology Department]

[Warning: Electrolytes must be monitored; beware of the risk of hypokalemia and digitalis toxicity]

A routine case, not complex.

Lu Chen set up monitoring, wrote the medical orders, and contacted the Cardiology Department for a consultation.

The whole process went smoothly and was done in fifteen minutes.

At 9:30 AM, another one came.

A 45-year-old middle-aged woman with sudden, severe headache.

[Eye of Truth scan complete]

[Patient Information: Female, 45 years old]

[Chief Complaint: Sudden, severe headache for one hour]

[Eye of Truth Diagnosis: Hypertensive encephalopathy (rapid rise in blood pressure leading to cerebral edema), not subarachnoid hemorrhage]

[Risk Level: Medium-High]

[Current Symptoms: Blood pressure 210/130mmHg, severe headache, nausea and vomiting, conscious but restless]

[Recommendations: Intravenous antihypertensive (urapidil or sodium nitroprusside), target to reduce mean arterial pressure by 25% within two hours, emergency head CT to rule out hemorrhage]

[Warning: Reducing blood pressure too quickly can lead to insufficient cerebral perfusion; continuous arterial pressure monitoring is required]

Lu Chen handled it immediately.

He opened an intravenous access, hung a urapidil micro-pump, continuously monitored blood pressure, and at the same time, wheeled her to get a head CT.

The CT results came back; there was no hemorrhage, it was purely hypertensive encephalopathy.

The drug pump was adjusted twice, and the blood pressure slowly dropped from 210/130 to 170/100.

The patient's headache was significantly relieved, and her consciousness returned to normal.

She was transferred to the Neurology Department for continued treatment.

Throughout the morning, Lu Chen received six patients.

Three were cardiovascular-related, two were respiratory system-related, and one was trauma.

They were all routine cases, nothing particularly complex.

But the handling of each case brought him stable experience points.

Especially those two respiratory system cases—one with acute exacerbation of COPD and one with status asthmaticus—involved a large amount of airway management knowledge during the actual handling process.

These knowledge points corresponded perfectly with the theoretical chapters he had read before. The dual bonus of theory plus practical operation made the progress bar for the Basic Theory of Emergency Medicine crawl forward by a few more percentage points.

At 12:00 PM, Shen Xiaoning appeared at the entrance of the Red Zone carrying a lunchbox.

"Dr. Lu! Time to eat!"

Lu Chen looked up at her.

She was wearing pink sneakers today.

"What's for lunch?"

"Cola chicken wings! And stir-fried broccoli and tomato egg soup!"

Shen Xiaoning opened the lunchbox and placed it on the small table next to the workstation, with an expression that looked like she was waiting to be praised.

Lu Chen picked up his chopsticks and picked up a chicken wing.

He took a bite.

"How is it? How is it?"

"Hmm."

"What does 'hmm' mean? Is it good or not good?"

"It's good."

Shen Xiaoning's two dimples appeared.

"Really?"

"Really. The cola chicken wings are made well; they are evenly colored and the sweetness is just right."

"Hehe, I practiced twice last night! The first time it was too sweet, so I poured it out. The second time I adjusted the ratio, and it was good."

Lu Chen nodded and continued eating.

Shen Xiaoning sat opposite him, resting her chin on her hand, watching him eat.

"Dr. Lu."

"Hmm?"

"Did you drink the milk this morning?"

"I did."

"What about the bread?"

"I ate that too."

"That's good. I was afraid you wouldn't eat breakfast again; you've come to work on an empty stomach several times before."

"You observe quite carefully."

"Of course, I am your exclusive Nurse, after all."

Lu Chen didn't respond to that and lowered his head to eat the broccoli.

Shen Xiaoning looked at him for a few seconds.

"Dr. Lu."

"Yeah."

"When will your paper be published?"

"Director Li said that I should receive the sample issue next week."

Shen Xiaoning clasped her hands together, her eyes brightening.

"Then will you really give me a copy to read when it comes?"

"Are you sure you'll be able to understand it?"

"If I don't understand, I can look it up in a dictionary! And you can teach me!"

"Teach you what? The principle of ultrasound positioning for Pericardiocentesis?"

"Mm-hmm, I want to learn."

Lu Chen looked at her.

This girl's expression was extremely serious; she wasn't just being polite.

"Fine, I'll give you a copy then."

"Yay!"

Shen Xiaoning happily clapped her hands.

Meng Yan passed by, glanced at the scene, the corners of her mouth curved up slightly, but she didn't say anything.

After finishing the meal, Shen Xiaoning packed up the lunchbox and left.

Lu Chen continued to open the book.