Main Campus Infectious Diseases Department

The Department of Infectious Diseases of Qingdao Municipal Hospital was selected as a Category B key discipline of Qingdao in 2019. In the latest China Hospital Science and Technology Value Evaluation Ranking released in 2019, it entered the national top 100 and ranked first in Shandong Province. It is the “National Standardized Fatty Liver Diagnosis and Treatment Center,” a “member institution of the You’an Liver Disease and Infectious Disease Specialty Medical Alliance,” a “member institution of the Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment ‘100-10,000-100 Million Project,’” and a “member institution of the Shandong Huiji Medical Technology Consulting Center.”

The discipline has strong technical capabilities and integrates medical care, education, and research with coordinated development. It has an independent outpatient department for liver diseases, a liver disease ward, and the Infectious Diseases and Liver Diseases Laboratory of Qingdao Municipal Hospital. It currently has 20 medical, nursing, and research personnel, including 11 physicians and research personnel (including 1 chief physician, 2 deputy chief physicians, 1 deputy chief technician, 2 attending physicians, 1 supervising technician, 5 doctors and 4 masters, 1 doctoral supervisor, 1 master’s supervisor, 1 national consulting expert on hepatobiliary diseases, 1 young committee member of the Hepatology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, 1 top professional and technical talent of Qingdao, and 1 outstanding discipline leader of Qingdao), and 9 nurses. It currently has 30 beds, an annual outpatient volume of 25,000 visits, and an average annual inpatient volume of 1,400 visits. It has a strong national influence in standardized clinical diagnosis and treatment of liver and infectious diseases, especially standardized clinical diagnosis and treatment of chronic hepatitis C, and is at the forefront nationally in clinical and basic research on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Discipline Characteristics and Technical Advantages

The discipline has a strong national influence in standardized clinical diagnosis and treatment of liver and infectious diseases, especially standardized clinical diagnosis and treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Over the past 3 years, it has undertaken 6 clinical drug trials, including trials of new drugs for hepatitis C, and is at the forefront nationally in clinical and basic research on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Its main distinctive and key technologies include ultrasound-guided liver biopsy; comprehensive liver-function assessment using an effective liver function analysis system; artificial liver technology for treating severe liver disease; noninvasive diagnosis of liver fibrosis using FibroScan; and quantitative detection of liver fat.

Discipline Development

The discipline is a Category B key discipline of Qingdao. It is expected to become a distinctive specialty in infectious diseases and chronic liver diseases with first-class status in the province and an advanced national level, a distinctive profile, a rational talent structure, integrated medical care, education, and research, advanced equipment, and strong overall capabilities. It mainly includes the following aspects:

1、Liver Biopsy

Liver biopsy pathological examination is mainly used for the differential diagnosis of various liver diseases; to understand the severity and activity of liver lesions; to provide an etiological basis for diagnosing various types of viral hepatitis; to detect cirrhosis at an early stage, inactive stage, or compensated stage; and to determine clinical efficacy. It is internationally recognized as the “gold standard,” especially for determining the severity of liver fibrosis. In addition, it can be used for diagnostic treatment, such as drainage of pus by liver abscess puncture, aspiration of fluid from liver cysts, and intratumoral injection of drugs or absolute alcohol for liver cancer.

2、Comprehensive Assessment of Liver Function Using an Effective Liver Function Analysis System

At present, liver function in China is mainly assessed through static tests, namely biochemical examinations. Judging the severity and prognosis of a patient’s condition solely through the degree of damage and functional impairment is clearly not comprehensive enough, and there are obvious limitations in reflecting hepatic reserve function, that is, the effective status of the liver. The liver function reserve analysis system is the only advanced equipment capable of measuring at the bedside, accurately and in real time, the important indicators reflecting hepatic reserve function: ICG retention rate and clearance rate. It is widely used for quantitative assessment of hepatic reserve function before, during, and after surgery, or before and after drug treatment, in patients with cirrhosis, liver cancer, and other liver diseases undergoing surgical treatment. The data obtained from the assessment can guide treatment more accurately.

3、Noninvasive Diagnosis of Liver Fibrosis and Quantitative Detection of Liver Fat Using FibroScan

FibroScan testing is a noninvasive testing technology that is rapid, simple, inexpensive, and readily accepted by patients, and it has been widely used clinically. FibroScan provides good diagnostic results for liver fibrosis and cirrhosis caused by various chronic liver diseases, including viral hepatitis, alcoholic hepatitis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and autoimmune liver disease. For patients with liver disease, early detection of liver fibrosis and timely, accurate treatment can prevent further deterioration of most liver diseases. As a noninvasive method for diagnosing liver fibrosis, FibroScan has major clinical significance.

4、Stem Cell Technology for Treating Decompensated Cirrhosis

Decompensated cirrhosis seriously threatens human health, and the national economic burden it causes is increasing. According to statistics, nearly 1 million people in China die each year from decompensated cirrhosis and its complications. The efficacy of current conventional treatment is unsatisfactory, and liver transplantation cannot truly be made widely available. Umbilical-cord mesenchymal stem-cell transplantation for treating decompensated cirrhosis can provide more clinical options and evidence-based medical evidence for its treatment, and has good social benefits and application prospects.

5、Comprehensive Medical Treatment of Severe Hepatitis

Severe hepatitis is serious, has complex clinical symptoms, and carries a high mortality rate. Its treatment has long been a major challenge in China’s clinical medicine. Early diagnosis and early treatment are crucial. In the early stage of severe hepatitis, although obvious digestive-tract symptoms and marked fatigue have appeared, various manifestations of liver failure have not yet developed. Preventive measures are routinely applied to prevent further necrosis of hepatocytes and promote their regeneration. The key points are addressed while maintaining comprehensive care. Each specific case is carefully observed and analyzed to identify the principal contradiction and establish a comprehensive therapy with leading measures. We have established an effective approach based on basic treatment, including antiviral treatment, immunomodulatory treatment, active prevention and treatment of complications, and early intervention with artificial liver therapy, achieving satisfactory clinical efficacy.

Collaboration, Exchange, Scientific Research, and Education

The discipline is the “National Standardized Fatty Liver Diagnosis and Treatment Center,” a “member institution of the You’an Liver Disease and Infectious Disease Specialty Medical Alliance,” a “member institution of the Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment ‘100-10,000-100 Million Project,’” and a “member institution of the Shandong Huiji Medical Technology Consulting Center.” It also has a good cooperative relationship with Houston Methodist Hospital in the United States. Relying on the above-mentioned national- and provincial-level platforms, it has established strategic cooperative relationships with high-level hospitals in China and abroad. Cooperation is carried out in clinical practice, scientific and technological collaboration, and continuing education, greatly improving the capacity for diagnosis and treatment of liver diseases and the technical level for solving difficult and complicated diseases. Continuing medical education and training courses are held regularly to comprehensively improve regional clinical medical service capacity for specialized chronic liver disease care.

The discipline advances medical care, education, and research in parallel. It has an independent laboratory (the Infectious Diseases and Liver Diseases Laboratory of Qingdao Municipal Hospital), undertakes more than 10 research projects, including 3 National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, has received 8 provincial- and municipal-level science and technology progress awards, and has published more than 120 papers, including more than 50 papers indexed by SCI, and served as chief editor of 5 monographs. As a national standardized residency training base and a doctoral training site of Shandong University, and as a master’s training site for 5 universities—Qingdao University, Nanjing Medical University, Dalian Medical University, Shandong First Medical University, and Weifang Medical University—it also has the Department of Teaching and Research of Infectious Diseases of Qingdao University. It has trained and supplied a large number of professionals for the country and has become one of the important talent-training bases for infectious diseases in Shandong Province.

Editing time: 2026/5/20 15:43:59