First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University

Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases

I. History of the Department The Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases was established in 1979, when it was known as the Endocrinology Group, with only 3 doctors and 6 inpatient beds. Its first academic leader and department director, Professor Li Changchen, was one of the founders of endocrinology in the Dalian area and was sponsored by the WTO to serve as a senior visiting scholar at the University of Tokyo in Japan. Under his leadership, the Department of Endocrinology gradually expanded to 10 doctors, 18 inpatient beds, and more than 10,000 outpatient visits annually. From 1995 to 2000, Hao Li served as deputy director of the department. Beginning in 2001, Professor Du Jianling, the current academic leader, began overseeing the department’s overall work. In 2002, following the opening of the hospital’s Lianhe Road Campus, the inpatient wards were relocated there and the number of beds increased to 35. In 2007, the Jinpu Campus opened and its Department of Endocrinology was established, with Professor Bai Ran serving successively as deputy director and director; the ward had 22 beds. In 2012, Chief Physician Xing Qian became deputy director of the department. In 2013, a diabetes examination room was established to routinely screen, diagnose, and assess diabetic eye, kidney, peripheral nerve, and arterial vascular complications. In 2014, an endocrinology laboratory was established and 2 professional technical personnel were recruited as researchers. In 2016, one of the first national and the first in Northeast China National Standardized Metabolic Disease Management Centers (MMC) was established. In June 2019, in conjunction with the Departments of General Surgery, Ultrasound Intervention, Nuclear Medicine, and Pathology, the first multidisciplinary, one-stop thyroid disease diagnosis and treatment center in Northeast China was established. In September 2019, the Key Laboratory for the Prevention and Treatment of Metabolic Diseases and Their Vascular Complications in Dalian was approved. The department currently has four subspecialties: diabetes; thyroid diseases; endocrine hypertension; and hypothalamic and pituitary diseases, purine metabolism, and bone metabolic diseases. It has 2 wards with 70 actual open beds, an average of more than 2,200 discharged patients annually, and 3 outpatient units with an average of more than 110,000 outpatient visits annually. II. Development Over the Past 20 Years Over the past 20 years, the departmental team has worked with one purpose, putting patients at the center and quality at the core, refining medical practice and strengthening the department. The talent structure, medical care, education, research, and overall academic level have all improved comprehensively. 1. Development of the Talent Team The department has consistently followed a strategy of strengthening the discipline through talent and has placed great emphasis on talent development. The academic leader, Professor Du Jianling, holds a doctoral degree and is a second-level professor, chief physician, doctoral supervisor, teaching master, outstanding teacher, and model worker. She was a visiting scholar at the University of Chicago and concurrently serves as a committee member of the Endocrinology and Diabetology Branches of the Chinese Medical Association and of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Physicians Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association; chair of the Diabetes Branch of the Liaoning Medical Association; former chair of the Diabetes Branch of the Dalian Medical Association; and an editorial board member of the Chinese Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Chinese Journal of Diabetes, The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology (Chinese edition), Thyroid (Chinese edition), and Diabetes (Chinese edition). There are currently 24 specialist physicians, including 8 chief physicians (professors), 7 associate chief physicians, 6 attending physicians, and 3 resident physicians; 17 hold doctoral degrees (70.8%), 7 hold master’s degrees (29.2%), 9 have studied abroad (37.5%), and 1 is currently pursuing a doctoral degree. There is 1 doctoral supervisor and 11 master’s supervisors, and more than 100 doctoral and master’s students have been trained. Over the past 5 years, young and middle-aged personnel have developed rapidly: 7 people have collectively received funding for 9 projects from the National Natural Science Foundation of China; 1 person has become a committee member of a national level-2 society, and 3 have become committee members of level-3 societies. Bai Ran is currently chair of the Diabetes Branch of the Dalian Medical Association; Xing Qian is a standing committee member of the Endocrinology Branch of the Liaoning Medical Association and deputy chair of the Endocrinology Branch of the Dalian Medical Association; and Men Lili is chair of the Youth Committee of the Diabetes Branch of the Liaoning Medical Association. The young and middle-aged talent pipelines in all subspecialties are well established and show vigorous, competitive development. 2. Development of Medical Technology The department has always sought development by adapting to national medical reform policies and changing models of medical care, with a commitment to developing, introducing, and implementing new clinical technologies. It also frequently conducts remote MDT consultations with renowned experts from the KOVLER Diabetes Center at the University of Chicago, Mayo Medical Center in the United States, the Medical Center of Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, and other renowned hospitals, enabling patients who come seeking care because of the department’s reputation to receive internationally first-class diagnosis, treatment, evaluation, and follow-up services. (1) National Standardized Management Center for Metabolic Diseases, Primarily Diabetes The establishment and operation of the MMC enables patients with diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, hyperuricemia and gout, osteoporosis, and other metabolic diseases to receive a comprehensive management plan based on “one national standard and one-stop diagnosis and treatment,” maximizing the possibility of long-term effective disease control and thereby effectively preventing and treating complications. (2) Multidisciplinary, One-Stop Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Thyroid Diseases Taking into account the characteristics of thyroid diseases, the department integrated high-quality medical resources from multiple specialties within the hospital to establish the first truly comprehensive “Thyroid Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center” in Northeast China. It implements a new medical model featuring multidisciplinary, one-stop decision-making and diagnosis and treatment, together with follow-up throughout the entire course, comprehensively improving patients’ healthcare experience. (3) “Dual-C” and “3C” Technologies for Optimizing Blood Glucose Management With the aid of insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitoring systems, 722 real-time continuous insulin pumps, and flash glucose scanning devices, the department was among the first in China to implement standardized “Dual-C” and “3C” technologies for optimizing blood glucose management. These technologies have greatly benefited many patients with diabetes, gestational diabetes, and other conditions whose blood glucose has been difficult to control. (4) Genetic Diagnostic Technology for Monogenic Mutation Diabetes The specialty laboratory carries out the leading “genetic diagnostic technology for monogenic mutation diabetes” in Northeast China. It routinely performs genetic testing for mitochondrial mutation diabetes and MODY, laying a solid foundation for clarifying the causes of diabetes and guiding individualized precision treatment. (5) Selective Arterial Calcium Stimulation and Venous Sampling (ASVS) As early as 2002, the department became the first in Northeast China to use ASVS for the localization diagnosis of insulinomas, solving the difficulty of tumor localization diagnosis in some patients. (6) Laparoscopic Surgery for Simple Obesity and Obesity-Related Type 2 Diabetes In cooperation with laparoscopic surgery specialists, the department carried out “laparoscopic surgery for simple obesity and obesity-related type 2 diabetes.” On this basis, it conducted basic and clinical research into the mechanisms of surgical efficacy, reaching an advanced level in China. (7) Diagnostic Technology Platform for Endocrine Hypertension The department was the first in Northeast China to establish a “diagnostic technology platform for endocrine hypertension.” It carries out adrenal venous sampling (AVS) for the functional and localization diagnosis of primary aldosteronism; salivary cortisol measurement and inferior petrosal sinus sampling (for ACTH measurement) for the functional and localization diagnosis of hypercortisolism; and high-performance liquid chromatography for measuring normetanephrine and metanephrine for the functional diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. These technologies have greatly improved the localization and functional diagnosis of endocrine hypertension. (8) Artificial Hypothalamus Technology In southern Liaoning, the department was the first to implement the domestically advanced “artificial hypothalamus technology,” namely, pulse infusion of gonadorelin using a microinfusion pump to treat hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. This technology replaces traditional treatment with HCG, HCG combined with HMG, or androgen replacement. It not only more closely simulates physiological patterns, but, more importantly, its ability to restore gonadal function and fertility is difficult for traditional methods to match. (9) Ultrasound-Guided Thyroid Nodule Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy with BRAF Genetic Testing This technology is highly valuable for differentiating benign from malignant thyroid nodules. It also helps determine before surgery whether a tumor carries a risk of spread and lymph-node metastasis, guides the selection of surgical plans, and predicts the efficacy of postoperative radioactive iodine therapy. 3. Continuous Progress and Breakthroughs in Scientific Research and Teaching The department has completed 4 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China; 1 project each under the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Tenth Five-Year Plan key program, the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Eleventh Five-Year Plan science and technology support program, the Ministry of Health’s industry-specific research special program, and the 863 Program; 4 projects of the provincial Department of Science and Technology; 2 research projects of the Department of Education; 2 projects of the Chinese Medical Association; and 3 projects of the municipal Science and Technology Bureau. It currently leads 5 ongoing projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 1 Ministry of Health industry-specific research special project, 3 projects of the provincial Department of Science and Technology, and 3 Dalian municipal projects. More than 100 papers have been published, including nearly 40 indexed by SCI; the highest impact factor for a single paper was 15.57. The achievements have received 2 second prizes and 2 third prizes for scientific and technological progress from the Liaoning Provincial Government; 1 Most Influential Award among China’s Top Ten Diabetes Research Achievements in 2013, the only one in Northeast China; and 1 first prize and 2 second prizes for scientific and technological progress from the Dalian Municipal Government. As a member of the Ministry of Education’s Higher Education Institutions Clinical Medicine Professional Teaching Steering Committee, the department actively conducts and promotes reforms in internal medicine teaching. It was among the first to implement teaching models including PBL, CBL, TBL, standardized-patient simulation teaching, OSCE, and combined online and offline teaching. It has led 1 undergraduate teaching reform project at Dalian Medical University and 1 project approved under the Liaoning Higher Education Association’s Thirteenth Five-Year Plan higher education research program (2016). It has published more than 20 papers on teaching reform, served as chief editor of 2 textbooks and co-editor of 6 textbooks, and received 2 second prizes and 3 third prizes for teaching achievements from the Liaoning Provincial Department of Education, as well as 1 second prize for an outstanding paper from the Medical Education Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and the Professional Committee of China Higher Medical Education. As a principal instructor of the Dalian Medical University team in the National College Student Clinical Skills Competition, the department made important contributions to the team winning first place in Northeast China and receiving the special prize and first prize in the national finals. 4. Social Services Through Health Education Since the late 1990s, the department has regularly organized public-welfare activities such as health guidance classes, free clinics, consultations, and science-popularization campaigns in the hospital, communities, and civic activity squares. It has established an experienced medical and nursing health-education team and become a “Diabetes Education Management Certified Unit” of the Diabetes Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, a “Diabetes Education Base,” and a “Metabolic Disease Education Base” of the Liaoning Provincial Health Commission. It has opened a nursing outpatient clinic, trained dozens of specialist doctors and nurses for sister hospitals, established a favorable social image, and successively received such honors as the Liaoning Youth Civilization Unit, National Youth Civilization Unit, and Dalian “March 8” Red Flag Collective. III. Summary After more than 40 years of effort, the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases has become a National Standardized Metabolic Disease Management Center, a National Key Clinical Specialty, a Key Specialty of Liaoning Province, a first-level key medical discipline in Dalian, the Dalian Diabetes Diagnosis and Treatment Base, Dalian’s first “Famous Medical Specialty,” the Dalian Key Laboratory for the Prevention and Treatment of Metabolic Diseases and Their Vascular Complications, a key discipline of Dalian Medical University, a Ministry of Health diabetes model outpatient clinic, a National Clinical Pharmacology Trial Base, a master’s and doctoral training base, and a National Standardized Residency Training Base. In the Fudan University specialty rankings, it has ranked among the top 2 in Liaoning and the top 5 in Northeast China for three consecutive years. The development of the department would not have been possible without the guidance, support, and assistance of leaders at all levels and sister departments, and even more importantly, without the united efforts and common dedication of all its medical and nursing personnel!