Gastroenterology

The Department of Gastroenterology of Ruijin Hospital has a history of 70 years. In 1980, it was approved by the former State Education Commission and the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council as a master's degree program; in 1984, it was approved as a doctoral degree program; and in 2000, it was approved as a postdoctoral research station. In 1990, it was approved as one of the constituent units of the National Ministry of Education's key discipline in gastroenterology. In 1997, it became a constituent unit of the key gastroenterology discipline of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine under the national Project 211, and in the same year, it was approved by the former Ministry of Health as a national clinical research base for drugs. In 2010, it was selected as a National Clinical Key Specialty by the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Several senior staff members undertake cadre health care work for the Central Health Care Committee.

The Department of Gastroenterology of Ruijin Hospital comprises the gastroenterology outpatient clinic, gastroenterology wards, the Digestive Endoscopy Center, the Gastrointestinal Motility Research Laboratory, and the Gastroenterology Laboratory. It has a total area of 5003m2 and 72 open beds. Each year, approximately 166,000 outpatient visits are treated, there are 5154 admissions and discharges, and more than 70,000 endoscopic examinations and treatments are performed.

The Department of Gastroenterology of Ruijin Hospital has a group of highly respected, scholarly and renowned senior experts at home and abroad, including Xu Jiayu, Tang Zhendu, Wu Yuxin, Wang Guanting, Jiang Shihu, Wu Yunlin, and Yuan Yaozong, who have made tremendous contributions to the development of gastroenterology. It has undertaken 51 national-level research projects, with total research funding reaching RMB 26.03 million. It has received the Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the Second Prize of the Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award, and the Third Prize of the Shanghai Medical Science and Technology Award on multiple occasions. A total of more than 248 SCI-indexed papers have been published, with the highest impact factor reaching 66.85 and a cumulative impact factor of 3556. The current core leadership team, comprising Zou Duowu, Zhong Jie, Wang Lifu, and Sun Yunwei, is leading the Department of Gastroenterology of Ruijin Hospital toward higher goals. The current team of the Department of Gastroenterology of Ruijin Hospital comprises 42 physicians and 1 researcher. Of the physicians, 71% hold doctoral or master's degrees. There are 7 physicians with senior professional titles, 14 with associate senior titles, and 17 with intermediate titles. Forty-five percent of the gastroenterologists have overseas study experience in the United States, France, Australia, Japan, and other countries. The department currently maintains good collaborative relationships with the United States, France, Australia, and other countries, as well as the Hong Kong region.

The main specialty areas of the Department of Gastroenterology of Ruijin Hospital are the following six: (1) inflammatory bowel disease; (2) early gastrointestinal cancer; (3) digestive endoscopy; (4) pancreatic diseases; (5) gastrointestinal functional motility disorders; and (6) difficult and complex digestive diseases. In the Shanghai Shenkang disease statistics rankings, the Department of Gastroenterology of Ruijin Hospital ranks second in Shanghai for inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatic tumors, and complex ERCP, and sixth in Shanghai for gastrointestinal bleeding.

Based on its comprehensive capabilities, the Department of Gastroenterology of Ruijin Hospital is willing to accept and diagnose various difficult and complex diseases and has extensive experience in their diagnosis and treatment. It treats large numbers of patients with difficult diseases from across the country every year, including T-cell lymphoma, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, blue-purple bleb syndrome, anomalous union of the bile and pancreatic ducts, pancreas divisum, autoimmune pancreatitis, protein-losing enteropathy, Behçet's encephalopathy, Cronkhite–Canada syndrome, tumor-like lipomatous hyperplasia syndrome, phlebosclerotic enteritis, Yixuegang, and gastrointestinal amyloidosis, among other difficult and complex diseases.