(Thanks to Water Droplets Piercing Stone, Be Gentle and Tell Me, Able to Trap Love and Make a Quick Investment, Bunkerchina for encouraging with monthly tickets)

It was dinner time, and there weren't too many patients, so the lumbar CT was done quickly.

"Although there's some protrusion, it's very slight and doesn't compress the nerve." After looking at the film, Liu Banxia said.

"Next, we need to figure out what's causing your muscle weakness. Generally, it's about the functioning of the peripheral nerves. Have you felt anything else in your hands and feet lately?"

The patient shook his head pitifully, and his whole demeanor became very tense.

"Relax, your blood test results are also fine," Liu Banxia continued.

"The electromyography we're going to do next is to check if the nerve conduction signals in your legs are normal, which will help us make further judgments."

"Carefully recall now, your current condition definitely didn't just suddenly appear today. There must have been symptoms before, like you felt weak for about half a month, right?"

The patient nodded.

"So you might be overlooking some symptoms. Try to think harder, maybe there are some minor symptoms that seem insignificant. Like in your legs, arms, feet, hands, or any other part of your body, or your whole body, mention any abnormalities to me."

The patient thought carefully for a while, then shook his head, "It really seems like there isn't anything wrong, everything is quite normal. Although my appetite isn't great, I've been eating. I just feel tired, but I'm the only one running the shop, so I didn't think much of it."

"Usually, I just sit, and when I stand up to do the cashier work, my legs weren't like today. Oh, if I must say, there might be something there."

Hearing this, Liu Banxia got energized.

"Sometimes my legs would go numb, for varied lengths of time," the patient said.

"Isn't that normal too? Sometimes when sitting for a long time, don't your legs go numb? Then it's like there's a bug crawling sensation, but that's all there is to it."

Liu Banxia tried hard to maintain a serene facial expression and nodded, "Then let's proceed with the electromyography to see how our nerve reactions are."

"Doctor, this isn't a terminal illness, is it? Bone cancer? Leukemia? So many tests have been done already," the patient asked cautiously.

"I've told you not to overthink things, yet you still can't help it," Liu Banxia said.

"You were revealing your symptoms bit by bit. If you had told me earlier about occasionally feeling numbness in your legs, I wouldn't have had you do the lumbar CT, which could have saved you some money."

"But since it's done, it's done. Just be careful when moving things in the future. The lumbar issue isn't severe, but you still need to pay attention."

"Think again, try to recall any other symptoms. Like what I just said, things that you consider normal yet you need to mention to me. With the doctor, nothing should be held back."

The patient glanced at him bashfully, "There's really nothing more. I didn't know that body fatigue and leg weakness were two different things. I thought the leg numbness was just because I sat for too long, anyone who sits would feel numb."

"Alright, I'll give you a form, and then you'll do the electromyography," Liu Banxia said.

"It's dinner time too, we can't let our doctors keep pushing you around, they have to attend to other patients too. Call a family member to come over and bring you some food. You've finished the colonoscopy, so it's time to eat."

"Okay, I'll make a call now. Doctor, I really appreciate your effort," the patient nodded and then thanked Li Hao.

"It's nothing much, I'll push you over to pay the fees. But after we finish the electromyography, we really need to eat," Li Hao said with a smile.

Actually, just these couple of sentences slightly lifted the patient's spirits, making it less of a big deal to call a family member over.

After the patient left, Liu Banxia frowned.

"Seems like the situation isn't too optimistic, and I was to blame for not asking thoroughly enough initially," Qi Wentai, who was listening nearby, said.

"Sigh… with patients like these, it's hard for anyone to ask all the symptoms in one go. And he came in with a clear suspicion of rectal cancer," Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.

"Muscle weakness and sensory abnormalities might be peripheral neuropathy. Such symptoms are usually troublesome, often related to autoimmune diseases, making the treatment quite difficult."

"If only it was mentioned earlier, we would have directly considered this aspect. Just now, I didn't even dare to mention performing a brain CT, worried it might scare him more. Let's first see how the electromyography goes, and the remaining tests will be discussed when his family comes over."

Ding! Task Released: Mysterious Muscle Weakness Patient

Open Task: The patient cannot clearly identify his condition, mistakenly seeking treatment thinking it's rectal cancer. During diagnosis, muscle weakness and sensory abnormalities were found, suspecting peripheral neuropathy. If a definite diagnosis is needed, further tests are required.

Task Reward: Based on diagnosis results

Seeing the task pop up from the system, Liu Banxia felt more helpless.

This patient's symptoms popped up like kernels, making even the system anxious. Previously, tasks weren't described so thoroughly, there was just a simple title, and the rest you figure it out yourself.

Moreover, although this patient is considered for peripheral neuropathy, we cannot completely rule out potential brain lesions. After the electromyography is done, a brain CT is still needed.

If there are brain lesions, it could possibly affect nerve signal transmission or give incorrect signals.

The patient's psychological endurance is too poor, so Liu Banxia aims to stimulate him as little as possible. Despite being quite old, he needs to be coaxed like a young patient during an examination.

The complaints aside, this patient's situation seems quite bleak. It's not the task that's been assigned, but the symptoms the patient exhibits.

If it weren't for the concern of rectal cancer, this illness might have been overlooked. By the time it's noticed, he might have already lost the ability to move his legs.

It's very possible, as many peripheral nerve diseases are progressive. They are highly stealthy, and when you discover them, irreversible damage may already have occurred.

"Teacher Liu, we've finished eating." At this moment, Xu Yino and her group strolled over.

"Is there anything good to eat tonight?" Liu Banxia asked.

"The mixed cauliflower was quite tasty, but you probably won't like it. The meat dishes will be cold, and the stewed meat with cabbage would be best served warm." Xu Yino remarked lightly.

"Alright, I'll just have cabbage soup today then." Liu Banxia replied with a smile.

"Teacher Liu, has the patient been diagnosed?" Liu Yiqing asked curiously.

"Not yet, they're doing an electromyography. Here's a small task for you: symmetric muscle weakness in the lower limbs, sensory abnormalities, and a half-month patient history."

After speaking, Liu Banxia walked with Qi Wentai, leading the interns towards the dining hall.

"Oh my gosh, why do we have to go in circles?" Xu Yino said with a bitter smile.

It was a bit overwhelming, as these two symptoms are very clear indications. Now she feels it's somewhat unfair for the patient to have prepared unnecessarily for a colonoscopy.

Though it's not all in vain; they did remove a colon polyp. While there's nothing wrong now, in a few years it might cause trouble.

"What should we do? Prepare a few alternative cases?" Liu Yiqing asked.

"Qingqing, how do you think we should prepare? There are so many possible causes with many subcategories under each major category." Xu Yino suggested.

"We can gradually exclude possible causes." Su Wenhao chimed in.

"Teacher Liu mentioned a half-month patient history, so we can eliminate acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. I wasn't following up on the patient, is there any other information?"

"I listened for a while, and the patient didn't have any other abnormal sensations. He sought medical help for bloody stools, and after the colonoscopy, had muscle weakness in the lower limbs." Xu Yino explained.

"Ah, I know now." Liu Yiqing said happily.

"You know? What illness is it?" Xu Yino asked.

"I don't know; we're just discussing it." Liu Yiqing replied.

"So what are you saying you know?" Su Wenhao asked, half amused half annoyed.

"We can incorporate Teacher Liu's thinking and recall his usual diagnostic habits, right?" Liu Yiqing suggested.

"That's right, I think we can also rule out symptoms caused by infectious diseases. What about metabolic and endocrine disorders?" Xu Yino said.

"We can consider this. I noticed from the records that only blood tests were performed and everything is normal. He doesn't smoke, drinks occasionally, has a normal diet, normal bowel movements, only low appetite, so nutritional disorders can be ruled out." Su Wenhao said while looking at the computer.

"I think chemical causes can be ruled out as well. If he was taking any medication, he would certainly mention it. As for chemicals with an odor, they can also be ruled out."

"Heavy metals can be ruled out too, right? Heavy metals present more than a single symptom. Hallucinations, hair loss, and auditory hallucinations are the major indicators." Liu Yiqing stated.

"So basically, endocrine disorders, connective tissue diseases, and hereditary diseases are more likely." Xu Yino proposed.

"If there were other malignant tumors, I think by now the development would definitely include pain. The patient doesn't seem to have any, or else he wouldn't be here for rectal cancer concerns."

"OK, consultation concluded." Liu Yiqing stated happily.

"But Teacher Liu will definitely ask what kind of exams we should do next. I noticed there was no brain CT done; we need to supplement one. Should we also do a lumbar puncture?"

"Yes, we need to. Checking cerebrospinal fluid can diagnose many related diseases. However, it takes longer, and the patient needs to be hospitalized." Su Wenhao commented.

"Given the situation, he wouldn't be able to rest assured at home; he would be more relaxed in the hospital." Xu Yino added.

"Then that's the plan. Consultation successful." Liu Yiqing said happily.

But Xu Yino frowned, "Do you think the big boss is deliberately making things difficult for the three of us?"

"Did you provoke him again?" Su Wenhao asked.

"What do you mean again? I haven't provoked him." Xu Yino replied, not very confidently.

Su Wenhao shook his head helplessly, feeling that he might also get embroiled into it.