After hearing that House had finally followed the observations Elion had made, Foreman felt the need to prove that he had the level of a specialist.
However, there were very few occasions in which he could demonstrate that he was an excellent doctor.
Part of him could not understand why Elion had suddenly become so dazzling, like a comet.
Up until just a few days ago, Elion had not stood out in anything.
In medicine, there is no such thing as an epiphany.
All experience in treatments is accumulated over generations.
Later generations rely on it to find clues about difficult and complex diseases and to further improve the system. For this reason, House often took bold risks and experimented with medications on his patients.
As doctors in the diagnostic department, they must eliminate possibilities one by one in order to find the most precise cause of the disease. But Elion had almost always pointed out the cause of the illness, and so far he had never been wrong.
This performance was far superior to what any new doctor could achieve without work experience.
Foreman looked at Elion in surprise as he went to pick up the antibody reagents.
Although House said he would not fire him because of his special talents, everyone knows that before the day you are fired, your boss will always use all kinds of empty promises to deceive you and make you work hard.
Once a replacement is found, your boss will try to make you resign voluntarily.
At that moment, Foreman felt a sense of crisis more urgent than ever.
He needed to take better initiative!
…
Shortly after Elion obtained enough antibody reagents, the four of them immediately began working in the laboratory.
During their race against death, none of the four had any intention of exchanging words.
Even Foreman, who had always taken the initiative to find other approaches, did not bother to say anything further after House made his decision. Once he had a plan, there were few things that could change his mind.
Approximately an hour later, the glass door of the laboratory opened.
The visitor was House, who had just returned from taking a break from the outpatient clinic.
He came to ask about the results.
"How's everything going? Any results?"
Elion looked at the computer screen and said, "One healthy baby tested positive for two of the eight possible viruses. These are Echovirus 11 and Cytomegalovirus."
"In the blood of the mothers of the eight sick children, only antibodies against cytomegalovirus were detected."
"Meanwhile, the woman's blood test also came back positive for ICO virus type 11." As Elion announced the results, House's face immediately lit up with joy.
As Elion had previously stated, before a baby reaches six months of age, all antibodies come from the mother.
If the mother does not have antibodies against the corresponding virus, the baby will naturally become infected upon exposure to the virus.
Enteroviruses such as Echovirus 11 usually reside in the intestines of adults and cause diarrhea and flu-like symptoms or rashes.
These symptoms are not serious for adults because they do not cause death. That is why, when the brainstorming session began, no one thought about the virus.
But they forgot that many viruses that are not fatal to adults can be extremely lethal to vulnerable newborns!
Fortunately, the current blood test results have proven that Duvey's previous diagnosis was correct!
This is not a bacterial infection, it is a viral infection!
In other words, by following House's advice, they avoided the possibility of using babies for drug trials.
House, who appeared calm on the surface, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Now that they knew the cause of the illness, the babies' condition was not frightening at all.
He let out a soft breath, patted Elion on the shoulder in front of everyone, and said:
"Good job again, Elion! Looks like everyone will have to work overtime for a while today."
"As compensation for working overtime today, let's all go out to dinner together later."
Upon hearing House's offer to treat them to dinner, Chase immediately whistled in agreement:
"Alright, let's go to El Único Restaurant. Their seafood is amazing."
House looked at the excited Chase and thought, "Eating French food? This guy is definitely trying to rip me off."
He shook his head indifferently, then pointed at Elion and said, "At present, there are no stable and effective medications available on the market for E. coli virus type 11."
"However, there is a new drug in Pennsylvania that has just entered EAP clinical trials and is showing good efficacy."
"Nevertheless, we must first obtain approval from the parents before we can administer the medication."
"Well then, Elion, I'll leave the communication on this matter in your hands. Let's eat together once the babies' conditions stabilize."
Elion nodded, left the laboratory, and went to the maternity ward to gather the parents of the sick babies and explain the cause and effect of the incident to them.
"Because viral infections are more difficult to treat than bacterial ones, there are currently no particularly effective treatments."
"However, a company in Pennsylvania has developed an antiviral drug, and experimental results show that it is effective."
"Moreover, we have already obtained the drug and can administer it to the baby immediately, as long as you agree." Elion paused briefly before the anxious parents pressed him for answers: "Does this new medication have any side effects?"
"Will it make my child feel unwell?"
"Isn't there another option?"
"Can we try something safer?"
"Can this medication really cure my daughter? Doctor, please tell us directly."
Looking at the parents in front of him, who were deeply worried about their children's lives and health, Elion patiently waited for them to finish expressing their demands before speaking:
"Please listen to me first. Since babies' organs are not yet fully developed, their resistance is lower than that of adults."
"Echovirus 11 is especially deadly to babies, as it can directly and rapidly damage their hearts."
"A baby takes approximately 24 hours to die, which means that every second we delay brings your child one step closer to death."
"I know you are concerned about side effects, but it can be said that the side effects of the new drugs that have entered the EAP clinical trials are the same as those of the cold medicine you use when you have a cold."
"Therefore, their side effects are insignificant. Unless you plan not to use any medication for the rest of your life, then there will be no side effects."
After saying that, Elion continued, "Not only will there be no side effects, but you also won't be able to have children."
Upon hearing Elion's somewhat threatening truth, several parents turned pale with fear.
They directly signed the consent form and handed it to Elion.
Even side effects are better than death.
Once someone took the initiative, the other parents immediately followed suit and signed the consent form.
With the authorization of the parents, Elion was able to administer medication to the eight babies in the intensive care unit.
What followed was a long period of observation.