Chapter 416 - 267: Nature

Chapter 416: Chapter 267: Nature

But what about Jiang He?

"Let’s go with Nature. I’m on better terms with them in Europe."

’Just listen to that tone. Is that something a normal person would say?’

’Is he picking his favorite concubine or something?’

Suddenly, a strong premonition rose in his heart.

If Jiang He kept up this pace of research...

In the future, it probably wouldn’t be Jiang He choosing the journal.

The chief editors of the big three—Cell, Nature, and Science—would probably have to do everything they could to get on Jiang He’s good side.

’It’s like the whole world’s turned upside down... Ugh, why does that phrase suddenly sound so familiar...’

In short, for academic journals,

the quality of their cutting-edge manuscripts is the key standard for maintaining their status.

Whoever monopolized Jiang He would monopolize the future trendsetter in the hepatobiliary and pancreatic field.

Yang Xu shook his head.

He was practically scared to tears.

’Good thing I got to know Jiang He early on.’

’You think maybe there’s some kind of mystique to the name Jiang He?’

’Maybe I should name my son Yang He? Is that a thing? Would it feel like he’s destined for greatness?’

...

...

Jiang He’s Medical Team Office.

Liang Shaojun said, "Boss, I’ve dealt with Bed 7. After adjusting the IV fluid rate, he’s temporarily stabilized. But Bed 12, who was admitted during the night shift yesterday, is a bit strange."

"What’s wrong?"

"The patient is a 45-year-old male, admitted with a chief complaint of dull pain in the upper right abdomen accompanied by mild jaundice. My initial suspicion was a common bile duct stone or an early-stage biliary tract infection. But after running a full biochemical panel this morning, the numbers don’t add up. Look, his liver enzyme levels are indeed elevated—the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is over three hundred—but his alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) aren’t high."

Jiang He looked at the lab report.

Liang Shaojun continued, "This doesn’t fit the presentation of obstructive jaundice. I carefully checked the imaging results. Neither the abdominal CT nor the MRI showed any significant dilation or space-occupying lesions in the biliary tract. In other words, the anatomical structure is clear?"

The attending physician beside them, Song Yiming, asked, "Brother Liang, could it be viral hepatitis?"

"We checked. The full panel of hepatitis antibodies came back negative. Right now, I suspect it’s autoimmune hepatitis or some kind of rare metabolic liver disease. I was just about to order an autoimmune antibody panel and a ceruloplasmin screening for him."

Jiang He continued to study the biochem report.

Liang Shaojun’s assessment was basically correct.

It was the textbook answer for 2008.

But from Jiang He’s perspective—who was basically using a cheat code—he instantly spotted many problems.

For example, the cholinesterase (CHE) was slightly decreased.

For example, the absolute eosinophil count was on the low end of normal.

Most importantly, the urinalysis showed a strong positive for urobilinogen.

Jiang He looked up and said, "Old Liang, you can’t overlook any fluctuation in the data. The first signs of a critical illness are often hidden within what looks like a reasonable margin of error."

In fact, this was something Liang Shaojun had said to Jiang He in his past life when he was mentoring him.

In this life, it was Jiang He’s turn to say it to him.

Liang Shaojun froze for a moment.

’You can’t overlook any fluctuation in the data...’

’The first signs of a critical illness are often hidden within what looks like a reasonable margin of error...’

It felt as if these were the words he had always been trying to articulate, somewhere in the back of his mind.

’It’s so apt, so logical, so true!’

Liang Shaojun’s scalp tingled. He even had the urge to immediately grab a notebook and write the sentence down.

’From now on, this sentence will absolutely be the first lesson I teach new doctors!’

He took a deep breath, his attitude becoming even more serious. "Boss, are you saying there’s hidden information in the data?"

Jiang He nodded. "The elevated aminotransferases indicate hepatocellular damage, but the slight decrease in cholinesterase suggests that the liver’s synthetic function is already starting to be compromised. Combined with the imaging evidence showing no biliary obstruction, this should be toxic liver injury."

"Toxic?" Liang Shaojun frowned. "I asked him three times. Both he and his family adamantly deny that he’s taken any prescription drugs recently. He hasn’t even taken health supplements. And he has no occupational history of exposure to chemical toxins."

Jiang He’s tone was calm. "Patients don’t always tell the truth, especially when they find something difficult to talk about."

Liang Shaojun was taken aback. "You’re saying... he concealed his medical history?"

"Judging from the current biochemical markers, this pattern of liver damage is highly consistent with drug-induced liver injury caused by alkaloids."

Jiang He turned his head. "Shiyu."

"Here! Your orders, Boss."

"I have a task for you. Go to Bed 12 and get on good terms with him."

Meng Shiyu blinked. "And after I get on good terms with him, what should I ask?"

"Ask about his life. He’s forty-five. At that age, he has elders to support and children to raise. Go in and chat with him about the housing prices in Yangcheng, about the stress from work. Then, naturally bring up how men sometimes feel... inadequate. Casually ask him if he’s been feeling weak lately, or if he’s gone behind his wife’s back to find some folk remedy to ’recharge’."

Hearing this, everyone present instantly understood.

Clinically, many middle-aged men experiencing a decline in physiological function don’t dare to see an andrologist at a proper hospital. Instead, they’re keen on secretly finding all sorts of folk remedies for virility.

In QQ groups, for example, as soon as someone claims to have a remedy like that with great results, the chat will immediately be flooded with messages: [My friend wants to know...]

If it were legitimate Chinese herbal medicine, it wouldn’t be so bad.

The problem is that some of these folk remedies are a total mess.

They could very well contain toxic substances.

The thing that gets an immediate and visible effect isn’t your "little brother," but your extremely fragile liver.

Then they end up in the hospital after taking it.

In front of their wives, they’d rather die than admit what they took...

It’s a classic case of suffering for the sake of pride.

Meng Shiyu said, "Understood."

This was Xiaomeng’s comfort zone. He was about to put on a real show.