Rheumatology and Immunology

The Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of the Tenth Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University (Dongguan People's Hospital) grew out of the Department of Rheumatology, established in 2012, and was renamed the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology in 2026. It is the earliest rheumatology specialty established in Dongguan and is the Dongguan diagnosis and treatment centre for difficult and critical cases of rheumatic and immune-mediated disease, as well as the chairperson institution of the Rheumatology and Immunology Branch of the Dongguan Medical Association. The medical team currently consists of 9 members: 2 hold doctoral degrees, 1 is currently enrolled in a doctoral programme and 4 hold master's degrees; 5 hold senior professional titles and 4 hold intermediate professional titles. It also has a high-quality nursing team of 12 specialist nursing staff, including 3 specialist nurses in rheumatic and immune-mediated disease and 1 specialist nurse in traditional Chinese medicine.

At present, the department runs expert outpatient clinics and specialist outpatient clinics at both the Honglou Campus and the Puji Campus. The inpatient ward is located at the Puji Campus and has 33 open beds. The department's overall technical level has entered the advanced ranks within the province. The department mainly performs the diagnosis, treatment and nursing care of common rheumatic and immune-mediated diseases such as lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, dermatomyositis, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic vasculitis, Behçet's disease, psoriasis ("niupixuan")/psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, hyperuricaemia/gouty arthritis, relapsing polychondritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, fibromyalgia syndrome, mixed connective tissue disease, undifferentiated connective tissue disease and osteoporosis.

To help patients further with refined diagnosis and treatment, the department has successively opened disease-specific clinics in reproductive immunology, arthritis/urticaria, psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis, and lupus erythematosus/scleroderma. The department has achieved outstanding research results, and its medical team takes part in a range of research work, including drug clinical trials, clinical and basic research, animal experiments and epidemiological studies. In teaching, the department is an undergraduate clinical internship site for Sun Yat-sen University, Southern Medical University, Guangdong Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University and other institutions, a national specialised department for standardised residency training, and a master's degree training site of Southern Medical University; it takes part in the teaching of undergraduates, residents in standardised training and postgraduate students. In 2023 Director Han Guangming and Director Yuan Fei were selected as leading talents in rheumatic and immune-mediated disease in Dongguan, and are committed to training more excellent rheumatology and immunology specialists for Dongguan.

Featured diagnostic and treatment techniques

1. Precision treatment of severe lupus erythematosus with multi-target biologic agents Lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease, generally classified in clinical practice into cutaneous lupus erythematosus, drug-induced lupus erythematosus, neonatal lupus erythematosus and systemic lupus erythematosus. Systemic lupus erythematosus can affect multiple systems and organs throughout the body; common clinical manifestations include a butterfly-shaped rash on the facial skin and joint pain, and manifestations of kidney, heart, lung, brain and other organ involvement may also appear. To provide patients with comprehensive medical services, the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology has joined with dermatology, nephrology and other departments to establish a lupus erythematosus specialty clinic, using multi-target biologic agents for the precision treatment of severe lupus erythematosus, such as refractory cutaneous lupus erythematosus, refractory thrombocytopenia, diffuse alveolar haemorrhage, neuropsychiatric lupus and lupus nephritis with persistent heavy proteinuria.

2. Biologic agents for systemic scleroderma and localised scleroderma Scleroderma is also a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the skin to become thickened and hardened; depending on whether it affects the internal organ systems, it is divided into localised scleroderma and systemic scleroderma. Localised scleroderma usually involves only the skin and may sometimes also affect adjacent muscle, bone and joints, but does not involve the internal organ systems. Common forms of localised scleroderma include morphea, in which the skin colour changes; linear scleroderma affecting the upper and lower limbs; and "en coup de sabre" scleroderma occurring on the face and forehead. Systemic scleroderma is one of the more serious diseases among rheumatic and immune-mediated diseases: besides skin hardening and "salt-and-pepper" changes, muscle and joint involvement, it also affects the blood vessels, lungs, kidneys, heart and gastrointestinal tract and other internal organ systems. Without timely treatment it can lead to musculoskeletal atrophy in the patient, causing limb disability and damage to internal organs. The advanced treatment methods carried out by the department can markedly reduce symptoms and markedly improve patients' quality of life, with evident therapeutic effects on Raynaud phenomenon, skin sclerosis and digital ulcers, and especially on pulmonary fibrosis.

3. Precision treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis with conventional medicines and biologic agents Psoriatic arthritis is, as the name suggests, the arthritis associated with psoriasis. Psoriasis, commonly known as "niupixuan", is the most common skin disease, with more than 6.5 million patients in China. Besides affecting the skin, these patients also develop hyperlipidaemia and hyperuricaemia and later develop cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease; therefore, in addition to treating the skin, these metabolic syndromes also need early treatment to prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. In the past, psoriasis was a disease that was difficult to overcome. With the development of modern medicine, the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology now uses conventional medicines and biologic agents for the precision treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. According to the department, this can make the patient's skin return completely to normal, and some patients can be "completely cured".

4. Combining analgesia with uric acid excretion for the specialised treatment of gout and hyperuricaemia Gout, also called gouty arthritis, is a disease in which the patient's blood uric acid level rises, causing uric acid to be deposited in the joints and inducing an inflammatory reaction; in severe cases tophi may appear and produce pain. Its cause is relatively clear. Blood uric acid level is closely related to diet; as living standards have generally improved, more and more people have gout, and the disease may occur at any age. According to relevant statistics, at the present stage the number of gout patients in China has exceeded 50 million. Many gout patients have repeated attacks and serious consequences because they have not received systematic, standardised treatment. The treatment strategy for gout has long since shifted from simply lowering uric acid and relieving pain to comprehensive management, which requires a specialist doctor to provide guidance throughout the whole process; it is therefore especially important to choose a medical institution with strong comprehensive capability and a high level of specialisation for diagnosis and treatment.

5. Minimally invasive needle-knife endoscopy of the joints Minimally invasive needle-knife endoscopy is a new treatment technique that combines traditional Chinese medicine minimally invasive jingjin (经筋) therapy with modern endoscopic treatment technology. The technique is performed under direct vision with the needle-knife endoscope, giving a clear field of view and the advantages of minimal invasiveness. It has evident diagnostic and treatment effects particularly on rheumatoid arthritis, gouty arthritis, osteoarthritis and arthritis of unclear cause. With little damage to surrounding tissues, it eliminates inflammation and swelling, relieves pain, improves joint range of motion and delays the progression of the disease.

6. Opportunities to participate in free treatment for a variety of rheumatic and immune-mediated diseases Rheumatic and immune-mediated diseases are a large category of chronic autoimmune diseases, including lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, dermatomyositis, Sjögren's syndrome, vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and osteoarthritis. There is as yet no curative method for these diseases; with conventional treatment, most patients can have the progression of their disease controlled and achieve the goal of long-term remission of symptoms. Conventional treatment includes glucocorticoids, antimalarial drugs (such as hydroxychloroquine), conventional immunosuppressants (such as mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine and methotrexate) and biologic inhibitors, such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α) inhibitors. For about 10%–20% of patients these conventional treatments are ineffective, or they are effective at the start of treatment and later become ineffective; these patients are described as having refractory rheumatic and immune-mediated disease. In view of this situation, new therapies for rheumatic and immune-mediated diseases are urgently needed. At present, Dongguan People's Hospital is running clinical trial projects for refractory lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and dermatomyositis. If a patient meets the study criteria, he or she can take part in the clinical trial free of charge; details can be discussed with the doctor at the time of consultation.