Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology Department

Department of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology The Department of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology is one of the earliest pediatric immunology specialty departments established in South China. It serves as the advisory institution and former deputy-head institution of the Pediatric Immunology Group of the Chinese Medical Association, and as a vice-chair institution of the China Alliance for Children’s Immunity and Health. It is also a vice-chair institution of the Asia-Pacific Association of Medicine and Bioimmunology (APAMBI) and the chair institution of the APAMBI Branch of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology and Rheumatology. The department has strong overall capabilities and is a distinctive specialty department integrating medical care, teaching, and scientific research, with an outstanding team possessing extensive clinical experience. This strong team, together with its extensive clinical experience, has created distinctive characteristics and a substantial influence in the field; it has been selected as the “Strongest Department in Guangdong Province” for 3 consecutive years. The department is also a doctoral training department of the School of Medicine of Jinan University and a postdoctoral training department of the Shanghai Pasteur Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The specialty is currently distributed across 3 hospital campuses (Renmin Middle Road, Zhujiang New Town, and Zengcheng Campus), with 68 open beds (including inpatient and day wards) and 1 laboratory. It provides comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for common allergic, immunologic, and rheumatic diseases. The main diseases include allergic purpura, systemic lupus erythematosus, juvenile dermatomyositis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, rheumatic fever, Kawasaki disease, recurrent infections, immunodeficiency diseases, atopic dermatitis, and other conditions, as well as desensitization therapy and biologic therapy provided in the day ward. The department team includes 4 chief physicians, 7 deputy chief physicians, 18 attending and specialty physicians, and 15 specialist nurses. This strong team, together with its extensive clinical experience, has created distinctive characteristics and a substantial influence in the field. Featured Medical Services 1. Biologic therapy and targeted treatment of pediatric rheumatic and immune diseases Biologics pioneered targeted treatment for rheumatic and immune diseases and represent a milestone in the treatment of rheumatic and immune diseases. The biologics currently used by our department include: TNF-α antagonists (etanercept, infliximab, adalimumab, and golimumab), anti-IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibodies, rituximab antibody (CD20 antibody), belimumab, telitacicept, oral small-molecule JAK inhibitors, and others. Treatment routes include intravenous injection, subcutaneous injection, intra-articular injection, and oral administration. Advantages: The advent of biologics has brought new hope for children with rheumatic diseases, particularly providing a new option for children who do not respond or respond poorly to traditional DMARDs and steroid therapy. Based on more than 10 years of clinical experience in our department, the treatment effects are outstanding, the therapies are safe and effective, and the incidence of adverse reactions is low. Most biologics can be administered in the immunology day ward, shortening hospitalization for children. 2. Dust-mite desensitization therapy Our department provides subcutaneous injection of allergen extracts (mite allergen injection) and sublingual administration of active dust-mite proteins for children with dust-mite allergy. By administering gradually increasing doses, sensitivity to dust-mite allergens is reduced, thereby effectively relieving IgE-mediated allergic diseases induced by inhaled mite allergens, such as bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis, and others. Advantages: The program has been in operation for more than 9 years, with more than 400 patients treated. The children have shown good tolerance, the treatment is safe, and it has effectively improved the quality of life and learning of children with dust-mite allergy. 3. Precision-medicine diagnosis and treatment Our department collaborates with Professor Seth L. Masters of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Parkville, Victoria, Australia, and the Zhang Yuxia laboratory team of our hospital’s Institute of Pediatric Research. The collaboration focuses on genetic diagnosis and analysis of difficult cases of allergic, rheumatic, and immunologic diseases associated with autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The team can independently analyze genetic data with greater accuracy than general genetic testing companies. By combining relevant genetic analysis with clinical information to identify the causes of disease, it provides more reliable diagnostic assessment and precise diagnosis, while guiding more precise treatment and targeted therapy. Advantages: Many difficult diseases in the specialty have now been diagnosed, while substantial assistance has also been provided for treatment and prevention. This achieves the goal of research serving clinical practice and integrating clinical practice with research, laying the foundation for more precise targeted treatment in the next stage.