When critically ill patients underwent CT scans, all the doctors "ran away" and their families questioned the safety of the patients

The eventful autumn is indeed not peaceful. Since the beginning of autumn, we have been dealing with a large number of surgical patients every day. However, the "many complications" have made the already hard clinical work even more bitter. Just a few days ago, the seemingly normal work was questioned by the patients' families.

Here’s what’s going on:

That day, we received a patient with severe craniocerebral injury. Because there was a large amount of blood clot in the patient's brain, surgery had to be performed as soon as possible to remove it. Therefore, we postponed the routine surgery and jumped the queue to perform this surgery.

There was nothing special about the operation, nor was there any scene of rescue. At the end of the operation, the neurosurgery department was worried that such a serious craniocerebral injury might have missed hematomas or new hematomas. So, everyone pushed the patient directly to the CT room.

When we arrived at the CT room, with the help of the family, everyone successfully placed the patient on the CT examination bed.

The CT results showed that the operation was successful. As for the extent of the patient's recovery, the main factor determining it is the extent of his injury. For this, everyone felt a sense of accomplishment.

Afterwards, we sent the patient to the intensive care unit for further monitoring and treatment.

After cleaning up the operating room, we started a new operation.

That day, after all the surgeries were completed, it was already past 7 o'clock in the evening. Dragging their exhausted bodies, everyone rushed back home to rest.

However, the next morning, we heard that the patients were very dissatisfied with us because they thought we were very irresponsible when they were in the CT room.

We were all very confused when we heard this question. After further questioning, we learned that the family members had reported a situation: during the CT scan, there was no doctor around the patient. They even deliberately emphasized a detail: at that time, even the ball was squeezed by the family members.

Faced with such doubts, it suddenly dawned on me: it turned out that the family members were questioning the departure of all of us.

Let me recall the situation at that time: At that time, I told the family members to squeeze the simple respirator after checking 5 numbers. I thought that such a simple action would not be missed by the family members. In addition, the total time for the examination was only a few minutes. Therefore, there was no need to worry about the patient's breathing problems.

Strictly speaking, we can only remain silent about the family members' questions. The safest situation is definitely for us to stay by their side.

However, a physical examination a few years ago made us doctors who frequently go in and out of the CT room worried: at that time, many people's white blood cell counts were very low. In addition, we doctors are very clear about the harm of radiation to the body. In particular, it is a cumulative factor that causes disease. If you are exposed to radiation every day, you will definitely not be able to retire safely.

Because of this, we try to minimize exposure to radiation. Even if it is just a CT scan, we will be very concerned.

Some people say that the patient’s family members are also human beings, so why should they be left alone in the CT room?

I would say that, as mentioned earlier, this is a cumulative process, and an occasional exposure will not be a problem. However, if you are exposed for a long time, it may cause illness.

Some people also say, doesn’t CT have a lead vest?

It is true that there are lead vests in the CT room. However, if the patient's circulation is unstable, the time spent on the road or in the CT room for examination needs to be shortened as much as possible, and there is basically no time to wear the lead vest. The fastest way is to teach the patient's family to squeeze the ball.

Finally, I want to say that the common goal of medical care is for patients, so both doctors and patients need to communicate more and understand each other.