Endocrinology Ward I (Endemic Diseases)

The Department of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University is a key discipline of Heilongjiang Province, the Heilongjiang Provincial Endocrinology Quality Control Center, the home institution of the chair of the Endocrinology Branch of the Provincial Medical Association, the home institution of the chair of the Rare Diseases Branch of the Provincial Medical Association, and the host institution of the Provincial Diabetes Prevention and Control Office; it integrates medical care, scientific research, teaching, and health education. The department has 4 wards and an independent endocrine function laboratory, with 200 beds in operation, and has become one of the larger departments of endocrine and metabolic diseases in China. In 2001, the department became the first doctoral degree-granting site in the endocrinology specialty in Heilongjiang Province; in 2003, it was designated a key discipline of the university; in 2005, it was designated a National Clinical Pharmacology Base; in 2006, it was designated the only provincial key discipline in the endocrinology specialty in Heilongjiang Province; in 2008, it became a training base for the China Primary Diabetes Education Program of the World Health Foundation; in 2020, it became a provincial sub-center of the National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases; and in 2021, it became the Heilongjiang Provincial Endocrinology Quality Control Center.

The Department of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases attaches great importance to discipline development, actively cultivates reserve personnel, and emphasizes echelon development. It has initially formed a team with a rational structure, a high overall level of educational attainment, and strong reserve strength. The department currently has 31 physicians on staff and 2 re-employed physicians, including 9 professors, 8 associate professors, and 12 lecturers; 24 physicians hold doctoral degrees, and 7 have research experience at postdoctoral research stations. The department places great emphasis on teaching and undertakes the teaching of diagnostics and internal medicine through multiple tracks, including international students, the seven-year program, undergraduate education, and standardized residency training. The department currently has 5 doctoral supervisors: Professor Zhang Jinchao, Professor Qiao Hong, Professor Song Haiyan, Professor Cui Can, and Professor Liang Meihua. There are 10 master's supervisors. It has trained hundreds of doctoral and master's students in endocrinology, becoming a training base for senior professionals in the endocrinology specialty in Heilongjiang Province. The discipline continually develops new medical technologies; more than 20 have subsequently been applied clinically and have received provincial and university awards for new medical technology. The endocrine laboratory currently has 1 postdoctoral researcher, 2 master's-degree holders, and 3 bachelor's-degree holders. It possesses advanced equipment, including chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzers, time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay analyzers, and radioimmunoassay analyzers, and performs relevant testing for endocrine and metabolic diseases such as diabetes, thyroid diseases, adrenal diseases, and pituitary diseases. It has become the leading institution in the province for providing the most comprehensive range of endocrine hormone testing services.

Professor Qiao Hong, the discipline leader, is a doctoral supervisor and a second-level professor. She concurrently serves as a standing committee member of the Rare Diseases Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; a committee member of the Endocrinology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; a committee member of the Physician Branch of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association; deputy head of the Immunoendocrinology Group of the Endocrinology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; a committee member of the Diabetes Group of the Endocrinology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; a committee member of the Nutrition Group of the Diabetes Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Endocrinology Quality Control Center; chair of the Endocrinology Branch of the Heilongjiang Medical Association; chair of the Rare Diseases Branch of the Heilongjiang Medical Association; and deputy chair of the Diabetes Branch of the Heilongjiang Medical Association. Under the leadership of the department director, the medical and nursing staff actively conduct scientific research. Over the years, they have undertaken and completed National 863 Program projects, the National 11th Five-Year Science and Technology Support Program, National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, Ministry of Education projects, provincial projects, and municipal scientific research projects, as well as international cooperation projects. In recent years, the department has made a major breakthrough in the quality of SCI-indexed publications, and discipline development has made substantial progress. The department emphasizes the translation of research achievements into practice and actively develops new medical technologies, applying advanced domestic and international technologies clinically to relieve the suffering of a large number of patients.

Introduction to Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases Ward 1

Endocrine Ward 1 (Department of Endemic Diseases) of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University currently has 50 beds in operation and 21 medical and nursing personnel, including 10 physicians, of whom 1 is a chief physician and 6 are deputy chief physicians; there are 1 doctoral supervisor and 2 master's supervisors. Nine physicians hold doctoral degrees in endocrinology and metabolic diseases, and 2 have completed their postdoctoral training. Medical personnel have been sent to the University of Western Australia, the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, Sichuan University West China Hospital, and other internationally renowned institutions for study and academic exchange, and international cooperation has been established. The department has trained more than 60 doctoral and master's graduates and currently has more than 30 doctoral and master's students enrolled.

The ward’s diagnostic and treatmentfeatures include:

1. It is a provincial sub-center of the National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, maintains in-depth links with hospitals at all levels throughout the province, and plays a leading role.

2. It scientifically evaluates whether patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes can achieve reversal, carries out appropriate treatment measures, and promotes reversal in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes; more than 50% of such patients can achieve long-term remission without medication.

3. It has been designated by the Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China and the World Wound Healing Alliance as a Diabetes Foot and Chronic Wound Treatment and Training Center and a China Diabetes-Related Chronic Wound Treatment Training Base. It is the only diabetic foot center in Heilongjiang Province that provides limb salvage for diabetic foot and repair of various chronic, difficult-to-heal wounds. It integrates multidisciplinary resources from endocrinology, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, and interventional medicine, and has successively introduced new technologies including ultrasonic scalpel debridement, ABI testing, VSD negative-pressure suction therapy, resection of toes and necrotic bone, toenail avulsion, autologous platelet gel technology, cell transplantation and microskin grafting, application of silver-ion dressings, and biological therapy. It has established a complete wound-treatment system, saves patients with diabetic foot from amputation, and promotes the repair of various chronic, difficult-to-heal wounds.

4. Diabetic peripheral neuritis is a form of diabetic neuropathy and one of the most common complications of diabetes. Our department uses neuroelectrophysiological examinations and equipment such as a multi-source therapy device to provide comprehensive diagnosis and treatment, with significant results.

5. Our ward has professional treatment teams for endocrine diseases, mainly including: ① a professional treatment team for thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy: thyroid antibody testing, CT, and other methods are used to grade the severity and assess the activity of patients with “exophthalmos,” on the basis of which individualized comprehensive treatment plans are developed; the clinical remission rate exceeds 90%; ② a treatment team for secondary refractory hypertension: patients with hypertension of young onset that is refractory and highly fluctuating undergo systematic screening for secondary hypertension to determine the cause and turn secondary hypertension into “curable hypertension”; ③ a professional treatment team for electrolyte disorders, including hypokalemia, hyponatremia, and hypercalcemia: endocrine-related laboratory tests and examinations are used to determine the cause and type of the patient’s electrolyte disorder, and an individualized treatment plan is developed according to each patient’s condition; ④ a professional treatment team for hypothalamic–pituitary diseases: team members have systematic command of standardized diagnosis and treatment for hypothalamic–pituitary diseases and provide patients with comprehensive diagnostic and treatment plans; ⑤ a rare-disease diagnosis and treatment team: under the leadership of Professor Qiao Hong, the department’s physicians are familiar with the latest diagnostic and treatment methods for endocrine-related rare diseases, comprehensively assess the overall condition of patients with rare diseases, and develop individualized treatment plans.