Nephrology

(1) Specialty Overview Our department is a member institution of the Department of Nephrology of Peking University, a Guangdong Provincial Key Clinical Specialty, a supporting institution for Shenzhen’s Medical and Health “Three Famous” Project, the affiliated institution of the Shenzhen Kidney Disease Specialty Quality Control Center, and the Shenzhen Clinical Research Center for Urinary System Diseases. It also serves as the lead institution of the Professional Committee of Blood Purification of the Shenzhen Medical Doctors Association. The department is also a National Standardized Residency Training Base and a nephrology specialist training base for the Peking University Health Science Center and the Shenzhen Medical Doctors Association. As a graduate training site for master’s students of the Peking University Health Science Center, Shantou University Medical College, and Shenzhen University, and for master’s and doctoral students of Anhui Medical University, the department currently has 1 doctoral supervisor, 2 postdoctoral co-supervisors, and 6 master’s supervisors, including 3 high-level talents from Shenzhen. The department currently operates 64 beds and is equipped with 86 hemodialysis machines. It has 25 doctors and 15 personnel with senior professional titles, including 6 with the highest-level senior professional titles. After more than 20 years of continuous development, the Department of Nephrology has become a modern kidney disease center integrating medical care, teaching, and research, established stable clinical specialties and research directions, and reached a leading level in Shenzhen in five subspecialty areas: kidney pathology and the diagnosis and treatment of difficult kidney diseases, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, vascular access, and integrated management of chronic kidney disease. Our department enjoys a strong academic reputation in South China and has been listed among the top 100 in the China Hospital Science and Technology Evaluation (ASTEM) ranking for many consecutive years, ranking 50th nationally from 2017–2021; in 2022 and 2023, it was nominated consecutively as a hospital with a nephrology reputation in South China in the Fudan University Hospital Rankings. The department currently participates in more than 30 international and domestic multicenter drug clinical trials (GCP), consolidating its specialty strengths while providing many patients with difficult kidney diseases with cutting-edge diagnostic and treatment options. We have always upheld the mission of “enabling patients with chronic kidney disease to live high-quality lives,” practiced the values of “sincerity, harmony, patience, and enterprise,” protected life with professionalism and warmth, and accompanied our patients along their “medical” journey. (2) Key Highlights All five current subspecialties are at a leading level in Shenzhen: 1. Kidney pathology and the diagnosis and treatment of difficult kidney diseases: Kidney pathology examinations have been performed for more than 20 years, with nearly 7,000 cases completed in total. The annual biopsy volume over the past three years has been 400–500 cases, ranking first in Shenzhen. Online clinicopathological discussions are held every week with the Department of Nephrology of Peking University First Hospital, and, on the basis of routine diagnosis and treatment, a platform for the diagnosis and treatment of rare and difficult kidney diseases has been established. Research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of lupus nephritis, diabetic nephropathy, and renal fibrosis. 2. Hemodialysis: Equipped with 86 hemodialysis machines and 7 CRRT machines, the unit has 362 long-term dialysis patients and is the largest hemodialysis unit in Shenzhen. New technologies, including immunoadsorption, double-membrane plasmapheresis, and ECMO combined with CRRT, have been introduced. An information-based chronic disease management platform has also been established, implementing integrated management by specialty teams and through medical‑nursing‑patient collaboration. Multiple clinical indicators have reached leading levels in South China. Research directions include vascular access, complication management, and patients’ quality of life. 3. Peritoneal dialysis: As the largest peritoneal dialysis center in Shenzhen, the center follows 410 long-term patients and is staffed with 3–4 specialized nurses. It implements a five-in-one management model integrating medical care, nursing, nutrition, psychological care, and rehabilitation. Multiple research achievements have been made in the prevention and treatment of peritonitis; the infection rate is significantly lower than international standards, and post-treatment survival time among patients who discontinue treatment is at a leading level. The center was the first to perform percutaneous puncture peritoneal dialysis catheter placement and has received a provincial appropriate-technology promotion project. 4. Vascular access: The annual surgical volume is approximately 500 cases, covering all types of hemodialysis access surgery. Standardized postoperative follow-up is provided, and a smart management system has been independently developed. The thrombosis rate of arteriovenous fistulas is low, while the long-term patency rate and the 3-month arteriovenous fistula maturation rate are at leading levels. 5. Chronic kidney disease epidemiology: The department undertakes multiple national- and municipal-level research projects and has published 19 papers in Zone 1 journals of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Based on multicenter cohort studies, it has revealed the effects of environmental and lifestyle factors such as air pollution, napping, and salt intake on the incidence of chronic kidney disease, clarified the causal relationship between declining kidney function and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications, and provided new ideas for the prevention and treatment of chronic kidney disease.