The two hospitals, separated by three days, issued two test reports with completely different results. Mr. Zhang's mother was hospitalized for a fall and was told by the hospital that she had a "hidden disease", but after being transferred, the report from another hospital showed that she was not infected with the disease. What exactly causes this?
On March 24, Mr. Zhang's mother was at home for two days because of a fall, and her condition did not improve, so she went to the nearest Huakang Hospital for a check-up.
Patient's family Mr. Zhang (pseudonym): On the same day, the doctor said that it was very serious and he must be hospitalized. At that time, I also deliberately looked at the software of Health 160 and found that this is a tertiary hospital, so I am more assured.
Mr. Zhang said that at first, he said that he was hospitalized for observation and treatment, but later the doctor told them that according to the results of the CT scan, it was a compression fracture of the lumbar 1 vertebra with bilateral arch plates of the lumbar 1 vertebral plate, and surgery was required. Just when the family was hesitating about surgery, bad news came.
Patient's family Mr. Zhang (pseudonym): After two days of hospitalization, blood was drawn for testing, and when the test results came out, the doctor secretly told my mother that she still had syphilis. Then I went to the doctor, and the doctor told me that the syphilis level between 0 and 1 is normal, and my mother's test result is 217, which is in the very serious range.
After consideration, Mr. Zhang's family decided to transfer to the hospital for treatment.
Patient's family Mr. Zhang (pseudonym): After arriving at Huizhou Central Hospital, the doctor said after watching the film, no need for surgery, rest for a few days, and if there is nothing wrong, just go home to recuperate. Second, a blood test showed no syphilis, and the test was negative.
Just three days apart, two different test results emerged. This made Mr. Zhang's family feel both comforting and angry.
Mr. Zhang (pseudonym), a family member of the patient: After the results came out, my first feeling was that it was fine, which was great. Then I thought that it was impossible for the hospital to make such a mistake, and I was deceived, and it must have been a deliberate act of the hospital to deceive the patient in this way.
Mr. Zhang analyzed that from the time he was admitted to the hospital on March 26 to the time he was transferred to the hospital on March 29, he spent more than 3,000 yuan, and if he continued to follow the method of Huakang Hospital, he was afraid that it would cost even more money. So are the facts as Mr. Zhang said? The reporter came to Huakang Hospital with questions.
According to the doctor in charge, at that time, Mr. Zhang's mother was in the rehabilitation department on the eighth floor of the hospital when she was hospitalized. The tests they did were routine before the operation, and when he communicated with the patients and their families after the results of the tests, he also said that it was very likely to be syphilis. Maybe the family members were more emotional and didn't fully understand what he meant. Moreover, in the single column of the hospital's test report, there is a line of remarks: Treponema pallidum antibody (TB-Ab) result is reactive, please combine clinical symptoms and other testing methods and indicators to comprehensively judge whether it is an active infection. Ye Huaying, director of the laboratory department of Huakang Hospital, said that the test done by the patient only represents an antibody value to determine whether it is infected, and the next step of testing is required.
Ye Huaying, Director of the Laboratory Department of Huizhou Huakang Hospital: What we are doing now is Treponema pallidum antibody, the value is more than 200, which means that she is positive and has a reaction, and a reaction means that she has been infected or is currently infected. The next step is to recommend that she do a syphilis screening, toluidine red without heating serum reagin test, which can determine whether she needs further treatment, but I went to check and this patient did not have this program.
The doctor said that the second test report presented by the patient's family was precisely the next test report recommended to the patient.
Ye Huaying, Director of the Laboratory Department of Huizhou Huakang Hospital: The primary syphilis screening provided by the other party is that toluidine red is not heated, which is often called the TRUST test, which is actually different from our Treponema pallidum antibody project. All we do is prove that you have ever been infected, that is, you have ever been infected with Treponema pallidum antibodies. However, the toluidine red done by other hospitals does not heat the initial screening for syphilis, it only first checks whether you have a current situation, whether you need treatment or whether you have an infection, and the current result is negative, which means that she does not need treatment now.
The reporter relayed the doctor's explanation and reply to Mr. Zhang, who expressed his understanding and agreed with this statement. At the same time, he said that when communicating with patients and their families, in addition to professional vocabulary, medical staff should also try to use oral language that is acceptable to the general public to accurately express it, so as to avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding.
The two hospitals have different testing directions, coupled with the incomplete communication between doctors and patients, which has caused misunderstandings among the patients' families. It also reminds everyone that doctors are the patron saints of people's health, and the doctor-patient relationship is like a comrade-in-arms who supports each other, doctors have "medical ethics", and patients should also have "patient ethics", so that they can trust each other, and a harmonious doctor-patient relationship is not only the due return of the society to medical staff, but also the well-being of the whole society.