I Am Diagnosed as a Medical Titan

Chapter 218: Chapter 151: Data Consolidation, Hand-crafting a Top Journal Paper

Xu Wenpei asked, confused, ”You want to build a new scoring model? Aren’t the existing Ranson and APACHE II scores enough?”

”Not enough. The model I’ve designed can issue a direct warning during the early stages of a patient’s Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. It’s very powerful.”

”Alright.” Xu Wenpei agreed without hesitation. ”I’ll have my graduate students run the medical records system right away. They’ll package the raw data with patient information anonymized and send it to your email. Before Monday?”

”That works. Thank you, Director Xu.”

”There’s no need for that between us.”

After hanging up, Jiang He set his phone aside.

All external preparations were now complete.

He opened the lab-provided computer and started writing the paper.

This paper was also a retrospective study, similar to his previous one on LNR.

However, back then, he had needed Chen Hao to run the statistics first. Then, he had to carefully deduce and calculate based on the clinical situation in 2008 to ensure the paper was flawless.

But now, when it came to [Severe Acute Pancreatitis], he didn’t need any deductions.

This was the field he had dedicated the latter half of his previous life to, the one he had fought to the bitter end to master in order to save his wife.

So, without a moment’s hesitation, Jiang He typed out the title of the paper:

A Novel Multi-Biomarker Scoring System for Early Prediction of Severe Acute Pancreatitis: A Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study (A New Multi-Biomarker Scoring System for Early Prediction of Severe Acute Pancreatitis: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study)

Abstract:

”Early identification of severe acute pancreatitis is crucial for reducing mortality. Traditional scoring systems are limited in their application for emergency triage due to being time-consuming or lacking specificity. This study aims to establish a simplified and efficient predictive model based on early biochemical markers...”

Jiang He knew exactly what kind of criticisms his peers would raise during review.

So, between the lines, he did his best to preemptively shut down every possible objection.

Take your peers’ path, leaving them nowhere to go.

After finishing the abstract, he moved on to the introduction. Jiang He pointed out that the medical community was currently too slow with early intervention for pancreatitis...

In plain English: He ruthlessly criticized the status quo.

Methodology section. Inclusion and exclusion criteria. Jiang He listed the predictive variables and their weights.

CRP > 150 mg/L.

PCT > 0.5 ng/mL.

IL-6 > 50 pg/mL.

BUN > 20 mg/dL.

Pleural effusion on initial chest radiography.

These five indicators were the golden rule for future early screening of severe pancreatitis.

In the document, Jiang He built the framework for the statistical analysis model, leaving empty parentheses to be filled with P-values and confidence intervals.

Time passed, minute by minute.

The sky began to darken as dusk approached.

The paper was now at its most crucial part: the Discussion section.

For the average graduate student, or even professor, writing the Discussion section was the most troublesome part.

But Jiang He didn’t need to think at all. He just had to type out the contents from his memory.

Pathogenesis? Nailed it in seconds.

The significance of procalcitonin? Nailed it in seconds.

Paragraph after paragraph.

The logic was airtight, without a single wasted word. His hands never stopped moving.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Chen Hao returned, followed by Cheng Xiyao, Yi Xiangwan, and the others.

”Old Jiang, five years of records. We got over six hundred and seventy cases that meet the criteria. We brought back a portion of them. See if you can use them.”

”Good. Thanks for the hard work.”

”Old Jiang, you’ve been at this the whole time?”

”Yeah.”

”Made any progress?”

Chen Hao leaned in behind Jiang He, curious.

He had expected Jiang He to be writing the introduction, or perhaps looking up literature to create an outline.

After all, without data, you can’t make bricks without straw.

However, when Chen Hao saw the words on the screen clearly, he froze.

The scrollbar on the right side of the screen was already at the very bottom.

The main heading starkly displayed: Conclusion.

Chen Hao: ”Huh?”

Yi Xiangwan also walked over to glance at the screen and couldn’t help but curse, ”Holy shit... Boss, you... you finished it?”

Cheng Xiyao leaned in as well, her face a mask of shock.

She couldn’t understand the all-English article at a glance, but she could tell it was incredible. It gave her a feeling of awe despite her confusion.

”Old Jiang... we just brought the data back from the records room. We haven’t even had time to run the stats... and you’ve already written the conclusion? What if the results we get from the data don’t match your conclusion?”

Jiang He pressed Ctrl+S to save the document, swiveled his chair around, and said:

”If it doesn’t match my conclusion, it means there’s an error in the data entry. You’ll have to recheck it.”

All the team members: ”?”

’Is he really that cocky?’

Chen Hao found it absurd. ”But... Old Jiang, medicine is about objective evidence. What if the final data isn’t wrong, but it really just doesn’t match?”

”Saying something like that just shows you’re still a research rookie. Take a closer look at the screen.”

Lu Xiaolin had been reading literature the whole time and only now let out a sigh of admiration:

”Chen Hao, look closely. In Jiang He’s ’Result’ and ’Conclusion’ sections, all the places that involve specific statistical significance are just empty parentheses. He’s simply drawn up all the statistical tables and descriptive frameworks in advance, just waiting for the numbers to be filled in.”

”Huh? He left them blank?”

”Yeah. It’s called building a framework based on a priori theory. The top experts at Peking Union and the Mayo Clinic, that’s how they work when they lead their teams on major publications. You didn’t know that?”

Chen Hao was completely baffled by the question.

He mimicked James with a shrug. ”How was I supposed to know? I’m just a third-year undergrad, okay!”

”PFFT—”

Cheng Xiyao and Yi Xiangwan, who were standing nearby, couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

Lu Xiaolin was amused as well and shook his head, but the storm in his heart couldn’t be calmed.

He knew better than anyone.

’To have such a high-level, strategic mindset for research, to grasp even the fundamental pathological logic so effortlessly... ’

’This junior of his was on another level entirely!’

”Alright, stop laughing for now.”

Jiang He stood up.

”Time is of the essence. According to inside information, a top international team is working on a similar scoring system. We have to beat them to it and set the international standard.”

The smiles on everyone’s faces instantly froze.

Jiang He looked at the two of them. ”Senior Brother, Chen Hao, I need you two to lead the team in two shifts. Get all the clinical indicators from these six hundred-odd medical records entered before 8 a.m. on Monday. Can you do it?”

Chen Hao’s expression turned serious. He nodded firmly. ”We can do it! But Old Jiang... I just flipped through them. Emergency departments back then didn’t routinely test for PCT and IL-6. These two core data points are missing from the records.”

”Remember what I told you earlier? If it’s not available, we test for it now.”

Jiang He grabbed his coat and strode out. ”Affiliated Hospital No. 1’s biobank has cryopreserved serum samples left over from severe patients back then. This morning, I already asked our professor to help apply for an ethics waiver. I’m heading back to the hospital now to retrieve the samples and will personally run the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.”

At the door, Jiang He stopped and looked back at the stunned group.

”8 a.m. Monday morning, we merge the data, finalize the manuscript on the spot, and submit it for publication. Thank you all for your hard work.”

BANG.

The lab door swung open and shut.

The room fell into a dead silence.

Chen Hao stared at the raw medical records on the table, his scalp tingling with a mix of dread and excitement.

’Old Jiang, oh, Old Jiang... are you really going to whip up a paper from scratch in three days that will set a new international standard?’

’...You’re really one of a kind!’