This epidemic reminds us of ECMO, protective clothing, goggles, nucleic acids, and throat swabs. In the current epidemic, everyone is keeping a safe distance, but there is a group of people who do the opposite and become the "outpost scouts" for screening patients with neoconiosis. The pharyngeal swab collection is the first step in nucleic acid screening, and is one of the closest positions to the virus. Today, I will take you to explore the work of the "sampling people" of Zhuzhou Central Hospital.
An emergency call, they became "sampling people"
At 5:00 p.m. on January 30, the first batch of 42 cases of new coronavirus nucleic acid test reports were released from Zhuzhou Central Hospital, making it the first medical institution in Hunan Province to conduct new coronavirus nucleic acid tests. With the escalation of the epidemic, the hospital urgently needed "samplers" to meet the clinical pharyngeal swab collection. The task fell to the nursing department, and on February 2, Tan Jianghong, director of the nursing department of Zhuzhou Central Hospital, came up with a list of volunteers to "fight the epidemic", and through comprehensive consideration, she dialed Chen Xuwen, a nurse practitioner in charge of the operating room, and Kuang Lirong, a nurse practitioner in the special needs ward.
"Come to the nursing department office tomorrow, I'll train you!" For the two young and responsible nurses sister, Tan Jianghong is particularly touched, he took out valuable time for them to put on and take off protective equipment training, but also invited the director of the hospital sensory department Zeng Liyi and Zhang Zijuan two teachers to come to guide.
"I have to get them trained and qualified to go on duty, only to protect themselves, to go as 'scouts'." Director Tan Jianghong said that when collecting pharyngeal swabs, the "sampler" needs to use a sterile swab to wipe in the pharynx of the person being collected to retain the specimen, the process, the person being collected may cough, sneeze, and even vomit and other irritating reactions, splashing droplets for the "sampler For the "sampler", it is equivalent to close contact with the possible existence of the new coronavirus, therefore, each collection of a specimen, have to take a risk.
Alleviate patient discomfort, but also to protect themselves
"In order to improve the quality of the collected specimens, we both do each other's 'patients', practice with each other, and experience first-hand the collection of pharyngeal swab sites, techniques, operating procedures and so on." Kuang Lirong said, after first-hand experience, in order to appreciate the patient's feelings, reduce the patient's discomfort, but also to avoid the impact of choking and vomiting generated by aerosols on medical personnel.
"Brother, take it easy, raise your head, open your mouth, it will be done in a few seconds." When sampling, Kuang Lirong comforted the patient very gently. Through the goggles and protective face screen, she had to be very careful to see the patient's tonsils and posterior pharyngeal wall on both sides of the throat, and then take a swab sample. At that moment, she was less than 20 centimeters from the other person's face, and the older brother was very cooperative and did not have a cough.
Chen Xuwen said that the process of collecting pharyngeal swabs, most patients can cooperate well, but also encounter some more nervous and sensitive patients, although the collection before, and they have fully communicated, still appeared choking cough. "We collected the object is a new crown to be row patients, for there is no virus is an unknown, in the collection of the initial did have fear." Chen Xuwen said, as long as the protection in place, standardized operation, they have now overcome the psychological pressure, not afraid of contact with the virus.
"To be honest, before the results came out, we were all hanging on by a thread, and only after each test came out negative did we breathe a sigh of relief. For all patients, we hope to get negative results, and we also hope that the outbreak will pass sooner." Kuang Lirong said.
Sampling is both a technical and physical job
Every afternoon, Chen Xuwen and Kuang Lirong receive requests to collect throat swabs from wards and fever clinics, and early the next morning, they need to bring all their protective equipment and carry heavy sampling boxes to start their work in the wards.
"Because we are facing the new crown to be row patients, so a patient, we must change a set of protective equipment." Kuang Lirong said, if there are five patients need to collect in the morning, they have to carry 10 sets of protective equipment, the day the task is completed back to the office, the hands will be involuntarily shaking.
Chen Xuwen said that the humid weather in the south coupled with the impermeable protective clothing, there is often a lack of oxygen discomfort, sweating, goggles pressure on the bridge of the nose vaguely painful. Although the work time is not very long, but each time the task is completed to take off the protective equipment, the face is staggered strangulation marks, the clothes worn close to the body also sweat wet. But the patient a "hard work" "thank you" "give you trouble" is their most powerful energy supplements.
Postscript
Now, the epidemic is not over yet, and the work of the "samplers" continues. With the gradual resumption of normal medical operations in each department and the increase in the number of patients admitted to the hospital, the sampling workload is likely to increase simultaneously. In addition to the sampling work, the "sampler" also has to undertake the hospital's new special outpatient reception work, in the fever clinic to initially exclude fever patients suspected of new coronary pneumonia, if you need to see other specialties, "sampler" also need to liaise with specialists for these special groups of people consultation, so that patients can get timely diagnosis and treatment. The patients will receive timely diagnosis and treatment.
"We believe that with our joint efforts, we will win the battle against the epidemic when the spring flowers bloom!
