Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 532: Chapter 532: Don’t Forget Your Roots

AIDS.

In their small county, for a rural family with a still-parochial worldview, the diagnosis wasn’t just a disease. It meant a ’filthy illness,’ a ’death sentence.’ It signified the social death of their entire family.

Director Lin Guorui sighed and said nothing.

At this moment, any words of comfort would have seemed hollow and powerless.

Back in the doctors’ office, the atmosphere was just as heavy.

"Since it’s confirmed, let’s just follow procedure." Lin Guorui forced himself to rally his spirits and lead the case discussion. "First, we need to contact the CDC, file the infectious disease report, and coordinate the free antiviral drugs (HAART therapy)."

"As for the child’s current cryptococcal meningitis, it’s a complication with an extremely high mortality rate. We have to immediately start a combined antifungal treatment of amphotericin B plus flucytosine."

"At the same time, we need to reduce his intracranial pressure. Mannitol for dehydration, a lumbar puncture to drain cerebrospinal fluid if necessary... All of these measures must be implemented."

"Also, the patient is severely malnourished. We need to start intravenous nutritional support. Supplement with albumin and amino acids."

Everyone chimed in, and they quickly formulated an extremely detailed standard treatment plan that complied with Western clinical guidelines.

It was a classic approach, clinically validated countless times and written into textbooks.

Logically, as long as they followed the plan step by step, the child’s condition should be brought under control.

Throughout the entire process, no one specifically asked for Li Xu’s opinion.

After all, in everyone’s eyes, even though Li Xu was brilliant with Chinese medicine, a serious infectious disease and fungal infection like this had to be fought head-on with Western antibiotics and antivirals.

Chinese medicine could only play a supplementary, conditioning role.

Li Xu listened quietly without offering his own opinion.

He had intelligence from the system and knew with absolute certainty that this plan would never work.

Or rather, the plan only addressed half of the problem.

Cryptococcus and HIV were indeed the pathogens, but they weren’t the sole cause of the child’s current state of being skin and bones with an enlarged head—not even the primary cause.

But he said nothing.

Because people don’t learn from being told; they learn from experience.

This was not only a trial for Lin Guorui and the others, but also a way to make them develop a deeper reverence for the ’TCM mindset.’

Only after hitting a dead end with Western medicine would they truly turn back and consider the value of Chinese medicine.

As for the patient...

Li Xu knew the situation was under control.

Although the conventional treatment over the next few days would be ineffective, it wouldn’t be fatal.

Besides, he could use these few days to help the suffering family apply for some special aid funds.

...

The days passed, one by one.

Li Xu returned to his own clinic, seeing patients and prescribing herbs as usual. Life seemed to have returned to normal.

Meanwhile, at the Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the treatment was proceeding with urgent intensity.

The amphotericin B was administered, as was the flucytosine. The antiviral drugs were also being taken.

The doctors and nurses were like soldiers in a war, monitoring all the various instruments and recording every change in the data.

Everyone assumed that under such a powerful pharmaceutical bombardment, the little boy’s condition would soon improve.

However...

Reality gave them all a resounding slap in the face.

After a week of treatment, the follow-up test results came back.

Although the cryptococcus count in the cerebrospinal fluid had decreased, the child’s symptoms had barely eased at all.

His head was still growing larger. He was still skin and bones, still vomiting whatever he ate and suffering from diarrhea. He remained listless and had even developed a more severe low-grade fever and irritability.

At this, everyone in the department was a little dumbfounded.

"This... This isn’t right."

The attending physician held the report, his forehead beaded with sweat from anxiety. "We’re clearly treating the symptoms, and the dosage is sufficient. Why isn’t it having any effect? It even feels like the boy is getting weaker."

Lin Guorui was also completely baffled.

He paced back and forth in the hallway, his brow furrowed into a deep frown.

’Where exactly did we go wrong?’

’Could it be a drug-resistant strain?’

’Or is there another, unknown co-infection?’

He even started contacting neurology experts at the City People’s Hospital, considering whether to give the boy a more detailed brain MRI the next day, or perhaps request a consultation with provincial experts.

After all, they had found the cause, and the treatment plan was standard, yet the results were nil.

This was an extremely rare and frustrating situation.

The atmosphere in the entire department became exceptionally oppressive. Everyone looked at the child still groaning in pain on the hospital bed, their hearts heavy.

...

「On the weekend.」

Li Xu came to the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine for his regular consultations, as usual.

He had just changed into his white coat when a haggard-looking Lin Guorui came to find him.

"Doctor Li, I’m truly at my wit’s end."

Lin Guorui said with a wry smile, "The boy’s treatment has reached a stalemate. Do you think... there might be something we’ve missed?"

Li Xu looked at Lin Guorui’s bloodshot eyes and knew the time was right.

"Gather everyone from the department. We’ll have a short meeting," Li Xu said.

Soon, the doctors’ office was packed with people.

Everyone looked at Li Xu, their expressions a mix of anticipation and doubt.

Li Xu glanced around at the crowd and slowly asked, "Let’s review. During this week’s treatment process, did we overlook something?"

Lin Guorui was stunned. "Overlooked what? We did all the necessary tests and used all the necessary drugs."

Li Xu shook his head, his tone calm:

"Diagnosis and treatment cannot be biased or one-sided. But your diagnostic process for the child wasn’t entirely complete. Specifically, after the boy regained consciousness, did anyone conduct a detailed Chinese medicine inquiry? Including details about his eating habits, his bowel movements, and urination?"

"Don’t forget, we are a Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine."

"Although everyone talks about integrating Chinese and Western medicine these days... I believe that for any patient, even after we’ve identified a clear Western medical cause, we must still conduct an independent TCM diagnosis based on pattern differentiation."

"You can’t just find a virus, follow the Western medicine guidelines completely, and throw out the entire TCM toolkit."

"After all, symptomatic treatment has its limits. Western medicine treats the ’disease,’ while Chinese medicine treats the ’person.’"

"A hair’s breadth of deviation can lead to a thousand miles of error. Until the whole truth comes to light, everything remains unknown."

Li Xu paused, then looked at Lin Guorui. "Director Lin, I think we should go back and conduct another, purely TCM-based diagnosis, don’t you? Let’s set aside the ’HIV’ label and look at this child as an ordinary patient."

As soon as he said this, everyone was stunned.

Especially Lin Guorui.

He reviewed the past week’s treatment process in his mind.

In an instant, he felt a cold sweat prickle his back.

’That’s right.’

’We’re a Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. We’re TCM doctors.’

’But when faced with the terrifying diagnoses of ’AIDS’ and ’cryptococcal meningitis,’ everyone had panicked. They had subconsciously copied the Western anti-infection protocol wholesale.’

’They had completely ignored the methods of Chinese medicine.’

’No one had even thought to take the child’s pulse, check his tongue coating, or ask about his diet.’

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