When the Doctor Uses A Hack

Every second is infinitely precious.

No one dares to relax their vigilance!

Chen Cang pushed the cart while Qin Yue straddled the narrow vehicle, her arms outstretched, compressing without ever stopping the CPR.

And the burly man who had come off the bus did not leave; he helped Chen Cang steady the cart.

The three o’clock sun was extremely intense, yet the trio felt a chill down their spines.

Qin Yue’s chest compressions never ceased.

Soon, the trio entered the emergency department.

Chen Cang shouted to the nurse’s station, “Xiao Lin, prepare the ECG monitoring, and call for bedside ultrasound…”

Resuscitation was imminent!

Qin Yue felt her arms were about to lose sensation, but she dared not stop. This was… the baton of life, who dared to pause?

Just then, Qin Yue suddenly felt the heartbeat slowly returning…

On the ECG monitor!

The patient’s vital signs quickly appeared.

Nurse Xiao Lin called out!

“Blood pressure: 60/30 mmHg!”

“Heart rate 120 beats per minute!”

“Respiration 32 breaths per minute!”

With a heartbeat now, that was good, that was good. Qin Yue was drenched in sweat, her hair sticking to her face, somewhat disheveled, and her white coat was soaked through, clinging to her body, for the first time outlining her seldom-seen curves.

Quickly, the ECG results came out. Qin Yue handed them to Chen Cang, “Chen Cang, the ECG!”

Chen Cang took a look and immediately frowned!

ST segment irregular changes!

Ischemia was certain!

Acute myocardial infarction as well!

But…

That wasn’t the most crucial part. What was the most, most, most crucial?

It was the strange shift in the cardiac axis.

Chen Cang’s face instantly changed. This kind of cardiac axis could be trouble!

In the resuscitation room, not only were Chen Cang and Qin Yue present, but cardiology’s level of resuscitation for cardiac patients was stronger than that of surgery. At this moment, the emergency department’s physician, Zhang Tao, also hurried in.

After seeing the symptoms and Chen Cang holding the ECG deep in thought, Zhang Tao said, “Xiao Chen, give me the ECG!”

Chen Cang nodded and handed it to Zhang Tao.

Chen Cang turned to Xiao Lin, “Let’s go, take the patient with me to quickly get a chest X-ray, to see if there’s any trauma or pericardial effusion.”

Chen Cang had seen many cases of cardiac tamponade recently; he felt that the ECG didn’t look like acute myocardial infarction.

Of course, was there an obstruction? Yes!

But it wasn’t the kind of infarction associated with coronary arteriosclerosis heart disease.

Cardiac tamponade?

Possible?

But the likelihood was really small.

What exactly was going on?

An ECG could convey only so much information.

What to do?

While the patient’s condition was still acceptable, they had to complete the necessary tests to proceed with resuscitation!

Chest X-rays were unlike CTs; they didn’t take much time and could yield instant results. Chen Cang was even willing to go along with it.

Zhang Tao saw Chen Cang about to push the patient away.

His face suddenly changed, “Xiao Chen, what are you doing?”

Chen Cang looked at Zhang Tao, too pressed for time to fully explain, “Professor Zhang, there’s no time. We have to complete the tests to determine the resuscitation method.”

Zhang Tao, looking at the ECG, felt somewhat panicked!

He had never seen such an ECG, truly!

He had never encountered such a bizarre ECG.

His emotions were complex.

Inner turmoil!

Anxious and uneasy!

Complex emotions surfaced, which was the most dreadful feeling for a doctor at that time: they were clueless!

Utterly clueless!

He didn’t know what to do!

All he could do was complete the examination.

But… there wouldn’t be any problems, right?

It’s commonly said that a number of cardiac patients have died in the radiology department.

One misstep and it’s all over.

Yet… without the examination, a clear diagnosis was impossible.

What to do?

Accompany the patient to the examination?

There was only one thing to do, bring the patient into the radiology department’s examination room for the test.

What kind of place is the radiology department?

It was definitely not a paradise.

After Chen Cang and Xiao Lin had taken Sun Baomin to the radiology department, they said, “It’s an emergency, cardiogenic shock, we need a chest X-ray, stat!”

The green channel was just that fast!

Very shortly, with the help of Chen Cang and Xiao Lin, the patient was properly positioned.

The radiology department’s technician said, “Alright, you can come out now.”

During the X-ray, physicians generally don’t stay in the room, after all, there is radiation inside, and staying there would mean exposure to it, so most people wouldn’t remain inside.

Chen Cang looked at Xiao Lin, hesitated for a moment, and said, “Xiao Lin, you go out!”

Xiao Lin was startled, “I… Dr. Chen, you go out, I’ll do it.”

Chen Cang’s expression turned stern and serious, “You go call the ultrasonography doctor to the emergency department, and wait for me! I’ll be right back for further examinations. Hurry, we can’t afford the delay.”

Xiao Lin’s face paled, and he hurriedly ran out.

Chen Cang gestured to the technician with a hand signal, “OK!”

The radiology doctor was taken aback and asked through the intercom, “You’re not coming out?”

Chen Cang shook his head, “With a cardiac patient, the condition is unstable, I need to observe the examination and position the patient in various postures. Take a few extra shots, please. Sorry for the trouble!”

The radiology doctor took a deep breath, said nothing, and gave Chen Cang a thumbs-up through the glass.

Awesome!

Chen Cang took a deep breath and began positioning the patient.

Generally speaking, the radiation levels in the radiology department rank as follows: CT radiation greatly exceeds that of X-ray, which in turn exceeds that of MRI.

Of course, there are specific units of radiation, but let’s not get into the details.

This kind of radiation is insidious.

In many primary hospitals, at the county and city levels, radiologists typically have half a month off every month, due to concerns of excess radiation exposure, because the isolation in these hospitals’ radiology departments is not well established, requiring plenty of rest for the physicians and some special post allowances.

Don’t underestimate radiation.

Pregnant women are not allowed to have CT scans because it could likely affect the baby.

With the cooperation of Chen Cang and the radiology doctor, the results were out soon.

Chen Cang looked at the X-ray results.

He was taken aback!

He saw a localized bulge in the shadow outside the contour of the heart. Was the heart swollen?

Suddenly, a terrifying thought entered Chen Cang’s mind.

Chen Cang, in a rush, looked at the radiology doctor. Without a word of thanks, he nodded and pushed the patient out.

The radiology doctor watched Chen Cang leave, taking a deep breath, and his expression showed admiration, his eyes full of respect.

For the sake of the patient, he was exposed to radiation.

A real man!

Totally awesome!

Hurrying back to the emergency department, the echocardiography was all set up.

The two-dimensional echocardiographic examination began!

Soon, the ultrasound results appeared too.

And everyone looking at the results was taken aback.

Holy crap!

Where did the heart go?

The heart in the pericardial cavity seemed to have moved from its original spot!

Was it lost?

Or had it gone somewhere else?

At that moment, Chen Cang knew what was happening!

His expression changed, and he said to Xiao Lin, “Xiao Lin, prepare for emergency surgery!”

ps: Hehe, five chapters arrived, guess where the missing heart has gone? Stay tuned for the reveal at midnight!