Neonatology — Honglou Campus

The neonatal ward of the Department of Paediatrics at Dongguan People's Hospital was established in 1991 with 18 beds, and at that time it was the earliest neonatal ward established in Dongguan. In August 2002, the Department of Neonatology became independent from the Department of Paediatrics, with 30 authorised beds and 45 beds actually in operation. Under the leadership of successive department heads, the specialty has developed steadily. In recent years, in support of the hospital's overall planning goal of developing into a high-level hospital, its authorised beds have increased to 55 and its beds in operation to 67, including 24 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) beds. The number of patients admitted each year reaches 3,000. It is currently the largest neonatal intensive care and treatment centre among general hospitals in Dongguan. In 2013 it was recognised as a Dongguan key clinical specialty; in 2016 it was awarded the status of a Dongguan specialised nursing training base (neonatology and neonatal intensive care); in 2017 it was designated a city-level treatment centre for critically ill newborns.

The department has a strong expert team and a well-structured workforce. It currently has 68 medical and nursing staff, including 20 doctors and 48 nurses. Among the doctors, 9 have master's-level graduate education and 11 have undergraduate education, with the master's proportion reaching 45%; 5 hold senior professional titles, 5 intermediate professional titles and 10 junior professional titles. Among the nurses, 23 have undergraduate education, and 2 hold senior professional titles, 6 intermediate professional titles and 40 junior professional titles.

The Department of Neonatology is currently equipped with a Class 100,000 laminar-flow air purification system, and has advanced medical equipment including high-performance high-frequency and conventional-frequency ventilators, various types of non-invasive ventilators, nitric oxide (NO) therapy devices, therapeutic hypothermia devices, transcutaneous carbon dioxide monitors, video brain-function monitors and transport systems. It focuses on comprehensive treatment of extremely and very preterm infants and infants with extremely and very low birth weight, non-invasive and invasive mechanical ventilation, use of pulmonary surfactant, NO inhalation therapy, synchronous peripheral arteriovenous exchange transfusion, diagnosis and treatment of retinopathy of prematurity, therapeutic hypothermia for brain injury and brain function monitoring, bedside critical care ultrasound, and umbilical vessel catheterisation and PICC catheterisation. It also provides a neonatal day phototherapy ward service and a transport service for critically ill newborns across the city.

Advantageous and distinctive technologies

1. Preterm infant management The department has a complete set of diagnostic, treatment and nursing protocols for preterm infants covering body temperature management, respiratory management, circulatory management, parenteral nutrition and feeding management, and it continuously updates them. Its capacity for treating preterm infants continues to improve: in 2017 it successfully treated 1 very preterm infant with a gestational age of 25+ weeks and a birth weight of only 730 g; in 2018 it successfully treated 1 preterm infant with a birth weight of only 650 g, repeatedly setting new records for the department. Each year it treats more than 10 extremely preterm infants with a gestational age below 28 weeks and a birth weight below 1,000 g.

2. Respiratory support techniques It is fully equipped with a variety of invasive and non-invasive respiratory support devices, including high-frequency and conventional-frequency ventilators, T-piece resuscitators, bi-level non-invasive SiPAP, NIPPV, CPAP and HFNC, and it provides various modes of respiratory support for critically ill neonates with neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, severe meconium syndrome, severe pneumonia and respiratory failure.

3. Neurological function monitoring and therapeutic hypothermia Several physicians have obtained EEG qualification and carry out clinical care, teaching and research in bedside neurological function monitoring. The department performs therapeutic hypothermia for infants with severe asphyxia and accepts infants with birth asphyxia transferred from hospitals in surrounding towns and districts; those who meet the criteria receive therapeutic hypothermia, which markedly improves the neurological outcomes of infants with hypoxic-ischaemic brain injury and reduces medical disputes.

4. City-level transport of critically ill newborns In 2016, the Dongguan Municipal Health and Family Planning Bureau took the lead in establishing the "Dongguan Emergency Network for Critically Ill Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Newborns", and designated our hospital and Dongguan Maternal and Child Health Hospital as the city-level treatment centres for critically ill pregnant women and newborns. Equipped with transport ventilator units, the department undertakes the transport and treatment of critically ill newborns from surrounding towns and districts.

5. Synchronous peripheral arteriovenous exchange transfusion Since 1995 it has been a national pioneer in performing synchronous peripheral arteriovenous exchange transfusion with a transfusion pump controlling the entire procedure. At present this technique is at a leading level in the city; most hospitals in the towns and districts do not perform it, and newborns with severe hyperbilirubinaemia are all transferred to our hospital for exchange transfusion.

6. Umbilical vein and PICC catheterisation Umbilical vein catheterisation helps critically ill newborns establish deep venous access as soon as possible after birth, gaining time and opportunity for rescue, and also serves as an early intravenous route for preterm infants; more than 100 such procedures are performed each year. Establishing a venous access that can be used over a long period is an important part of treating very small preterm infants, and the department performs more than 100 PICC catheterisations each year. It also receives and trains key medical and nursing staff from subordinate units across the city so that they master this technique.

Director Chen Zhifeng examining an infant; a patient presents a silk banner (jinqi) of appreciation; group photo of the department's medical and nursing staff; academic exchange; neonatal transport system