Rheumatology and Immunology

The Department of Rheumatology and Immunology was established in 1984, is one of the earliest-established rheumatology and immunology disciplines in China, and is the country’s first national key research center for inflammatory myopathies. It is a National Key Clinical Specialty in Rheumatic and Immune Diseases and has ranked among the top 10 in Fudan University’s National Ranking of the Best Hospital Specialties for 12 consecutive years. It offers master’s and doctoral degree programs through Peking Union Medical College and Peking University Health Science Center; it is one of the first standardized training bases in Beijing for residents and for specialist physicians in rheumatology and immunology internal medicine under the Ministry of Health, a National Drug Clinical Trial Institution, a Ministry of Health Standardized Osteoporosis Diagnosis and Treatment Base, a National Further-Training Base for Rheumatology and Immunology Internal Medicine, a member institution of the International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group and the European Myositis Registry Study Group, and an institution of the European Vasculitis Study Group.

Departmental Staff Composition: The department chair is Professor Wang Guochun, the deputy department chair is Professor Lu Xin, and the head nurse is Zhang Ying. The department has 5 chief physicians, 4 associate chief physicians, 7 attending physicians, 5 resident physicians, 2 technicians, 15 nurse practitioners, etc. The laboratory has 5 research staff, including 1 associate research fellow, 2 assistant research fellows, and 2 technicians. Several staff members have successively also held academic positions, including deputy chair of the Rheumatology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, secretary-general of the Rheumatology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, advisor to the Rheumatology Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, deputy editor-in-chief of the Chinese Journal of Rheumatology, and executive committee member of the International Myositis Association, among others.

Outpatient and Ward Arrangement: There are 40 inpatient beds in total.

Introduction to Diagnostic and Therapeutic Equipment: The department has advanced equipment for antinuclear antibody testing, a complete set of equipment for muscle pathology, flow cytometers, etc.

Departmental Diagnostic and Therapeutic Specialties:

1. Polymyositis/Dermatomyositis:

The diagnosis and treatment of “myositis/dermatomyositis” is an important specialty of the department. It has particularly extensive clinical experience in managing recurrent, difficult, or critical and severe myositis/dermatomyositis. Its diagnostic and treatment expertise is at an internationally and nationally leading level.

2. Various Common Rheumatic Diseases, Critical and Severe Cases, and Difficult Rheumatic Diseases

Based on the diagnosis and treatment of common and difficult rheumatic diseases (including: systemic lupus erythematosus, neuropsychiatric lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, gout, reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, Sjögren syndrome, scleroderma, systemic vasculitis, fever of unknown origin, autoimmune hepatitis, and IgG4-related disease), the department has developed comprehensively with critical internal medicine conditions and various difficult diseases as its distinctive focus and has established a strong subspecialty backbone team (a professor–associate professor–attending physician–resident physician diagnostic and treatment team). It enjoys considerable renown, strong influence, and broad reach in China, and most patients come from all over the country.

3. Clinical Trial Base for New Rheumatic Disease Drugs

It is one of the earliest-approved clinical trial bases for new rheumatic disease drugs nationwide and provides patients with the latest drug treatments from China and abroad.

Scientific Research Achievements of the Department: The department has undertaken numerous research projects, including the “11th Five-Year” and “12th Five-Year” Science and Technology Support Programs, “863” projects, the National Natural Science Foundation, and projects of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health. Its research has focused mainly on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of “myositis, dermatomyositis, and their associated interstitial pneumonia,” and has yielded fruitful results. It has received one Beijing Science and Technology Progress Award.

Departmental Teaching:

1. Undergraduate Teaching: It undertakes teaching for the five-year and eight-year programs of Peking University Health Science Center, as well as undergraduate teaching at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. It admits clinically oriented and research-oriented postgraduate students from Peking Union Medical College, Peking University Health Science Center, and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

2. Standardized Residency Training: It undertakes standardized training for all residents in the hospital’s internal-medicine-related departments.

3. Specialist Physician Training: Each year, it accepts rheumatology and immunology specialist physicians for further training. These physicians all come from tertiary hospitals in provinces and municipalities throughout China, providing various learning opportunities for the training of rheumatology specialists in China.

Departmental Honors: Received the Beijing Science and Technology Progress Award.

Location within the Hospital: Rheumatology and Immunology Outpatient Clinic: east side of the fourth floor of the Outpatient Building; Rheumatology and Immunology Ward: east side of the 13th floor of Building A of the Inpatient Building.

Department Telephone Numbers: Outpatient clinic: 010-84205565, ward: 010-84205721, nurses’ station: 010-84205929.