The Nephrology Department was organized in 1980, then founded in 1983, and officially operated in 1986, the Department is now a Key Clinical Specialty authorized by the Ministry of Health, the largest diagnosis and treatment center for difficult and critical kidney diseases in western China, and also a scientific research, teaching and training base for medical personnel of kidney disease specialty. The Department ranked No. 7 in China's Scientific and Technological Influence Ranking in 2017, and No. 6 in China's Best Clinical Discipline Evaluation Ranking (by Peking University).
Medical Services: The Department has seven subspecialties, including: metabolic nephropathy (diabetic nephropathy/hypertensive nephropathy/gouty nephropathy), immune nephritis/transplant nephropathy, acute renal injury/tubulointerstitial disease, peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, CRRT and vascular access establishment and maintenance. Every sub-specialty has established its own clinical information databases. And it provides medical services for more than 150,000 outpatients and over 7,000 inpatients are discharged annually.
Dialysis Center: There are two dialysis centers in the Department: one in the Main Campus and the other is in Yongning Branch Campusindividually, with 131 dialysis machines and 33 CCRT machines, and with an annual volume of dialysis over 100,000 times and nearly 600 patients. The centers conduct parathyroidectomy and autotransplantation in cooperation with the Surgery Department and perform MDT integrated management on CKD-MBD patients with satisfactory results. The subgroup of vascular access and interventional treatment of renal vascular diseases in the Department has its own characteristics. The techniques of percutaneous anonymous venipuncture and percutaneous superior vena cava puncture are originated from our hospital and have been cited in the second edition of the guidelines of Vascular Access Group of Chinese Hospital Management Association.
Teaching: The Department offers programs for PhD and master’s degrees approved by the Ministry of Education. It has 5 PhD supervisors and 13 master supervisors. The Department undertakes teaching responsibilities including clinical teaching, clinical rotation and internship for masters, undergraduates and for foreign students (in languages of Chinese and English) every year.
Training: The Department has trained 93 resident doctors and nurses (20 doctors and 73 nurses) in the last 3 years. As the national training base of blood purification for county-level hospitals and for specialized nurses from Sichuan Province, it has held 16 training courses, and trained 591 qualified specialized nurses in blood purification for 12 provinces. In the last 5 years, the advance trainee program has received 600 doctors and 162 nurses from hospitals all over the country, and over 20 blood purification technicians for Western Health Personnel Training Project of the Ministry of Health. It has given lectures on nearly 30 topics of national remote medical continuing education programs and now enjoys high reputation among hospitals at all levels across the nation.
Textbook and Monograph Writing: In the last 3 years, the Department has participated in compiling 18 textbooks and monographs for the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, such as Clinical Nephrology, Acute Renal Injury, Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Guide - Nephrology Volume, etc.
Scientific Research Achievements: The Nephrology Department of West China Hospital has undertaken 110 national, provincial and municipal scientific research projects in the last decade, including 22 projects supported by National Natural Science Foundation, 5 national key R& D projects under “the 13th Five-year Plan” of the Ministry of Science and Technology, 3 projects supported by "the 12th Five-Year Plan" as backbone units, 2 "973" projects, 1 "863" project, and 3 public welfare projects of the Ministry of Health. The total funds of vertical research projects have added up to more than 24 million RMB, and 70 horizontal projects over 20 million RMB. In the past decade, more than 600 papers have been published in professional journals at home and abroad, with 189 papers accepted in SCI, 2 monographs on kidney diseases and 3 books on nursing compiled by the Department as the chief editor. In addition, the Department also participates in the study of 5 to7 multi-center clinical drugs and devices every year. In 2008, CRRT basic replacement solution, a patented product, was approved to be listed into five national new drugs in Chinese market, and listed as the only replacement solution for sales in China.
CRRT Subspecialty: With various new blood purification models in tune with the international practice, CRRT Subspecialty has successfully treated a variety of critical patients, especially patients with crush syndrome in 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. In 2010, it proposed to simplify the clinical application of citric acid in CRRT, greatly improving the safety and effectiveness of CRRT anticoagulation. At present, the treatment amount has reached 8,000 hours per month, and the number of patients has exceeded 1,500 per year. More than 500 professional CRRT medical workers are trained annually, making CRRT subspecialty well-known both at home and abroad.
Peritoneal Dialysis Center: The Center has more than 500 patients receiving follow-up for maintenance peritoneal dialysis; and it conducts more than 200 cases of peritoneal dialysis catheterization every year. It has also developed nocturnal home automatic peritoneal dialysis (APD), laparoscopic peritoneal dialysis catheterization, ultrasound-guided horizontal block anesthesia of abdominal transverse muscles and other special techniques, so as to improve the success of operations and reduce patients’ pain and post-operative complications. As the largest peritoneal dialysis center in western China, it is playing a central and influential role in the technical support and patient management of peritoneal dialysis in Sichuan Province and Western China.
