Paediatrics

I. Specialty Overview

The Department of Pediatrics of the First Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine was founded in 1954. Through the efforts of several generations, the discipline currently ranks among the leading institutions nationwide in terms of its scale, clinical service capabilities, and levels of scientific research and teaching. It has now become all of the following: a key discipline of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2009); a National Clinical Key Specialty (2011); a construction unit for the National Regional Traditional Chinese Medicine (Specialty) Diagnosis and Treatment Center (2017); the National Traditional Chinese Medicine Pediatric Specialty Medical Center (1997); a key specialty under the 10th and 11th Five-Year Plans of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2002, 2007); a key specialty under the 12th Five-Year Plan of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the leading institution of its pediatric collaboration group (2012); the chairing institution of the Pediatrics Branch of the China Association of Chinese Medicine (2009, 2013); the consultation center for difficult diseases (pediatric diseases) of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2013); the chairing institution of the Professional Committee for Children's Health and Drug Research of the China Association of Chinese Materia Medica; the chairing institution of the Collaborative Innovation Community for Children's Pneumonia of the China Association of Chinese Medicine; the council-chair institution of the Curriculum Alliance for the core course 'Pediatrics of Traditional Chinese Medicine' in TCM programs at higher education institutions; a doctoral degree-awarding site for Pediatrics of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2004); a construction institution for the national-level quality course 'Pediatrics of Traditional Chinese Medicine' (2009) and the National Quality Resource-Sharing Course (2013); a postdoctoral research station in Pediatrics of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2011); a construction institution for the clinical research technology platform for pediatric Chinese medicines under the Major New Drug Development project of the Ministry of Science and Technology; a continuing education base for advantageous TCM disciplines of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2009); the Best Research-Oriented Specialty among Chinese Medicine Hospitals in China (2021); the chairing institution of the National Children's Tic and Hyperactivity Alliance; the chairing institution of the Pediatrics Professional Committee of the Tianjin Association of Chinese Medicine; a key development discipline of the Tianjin health system (1996); a key TCM specialty in Tianjin (1999); a Level-2 TCM scientific research laboratory of the Tianjin Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning (2016); the Tianjin Municipal Health Bureau Key Research Laboratory for Pediatric TCM Encephalopathy (2008); and a Tianjin municipal-level teaching team (2013). It is also the Tianjin base for standardized residency training in TCM Pediatrics (2009), and has 3 National Famous TCM Physician Studios (Li Shaochuan, Chen Baoyi, Ma Rong) and 4 Tianjin Famous TCM Physician Studios (Qiu Shiyuan, Ma Rong, Li Xinmin, Hu Siyuan).

II. Talent Team

The discipline currently has more than 50 physicians, including 15 chief physicians and 9 associate chief physicians; 11 PhD holders and 36 master's degree holders; 5 doctoral supervisors and 24 master's supervisors. Professor Ma Rong, the academic leader, was among the first group of Qihuang Scholars nationwide and concurrently serves as deputy chair of the Expert Committee on Children's Medication of the National Health Commission, chair of the Professional Committee for Children's Health and Drug Research of the China Association of Chinese Materia Medica, and holds other positions. Professor Li Xinmin, the discipline leader, is a National Expert with Outstanding Contributions to Health among young and middle-aged experts, and concurrently serves as council chair of the Curriculum Alliance for 'Pediatrics of Traditional Chinese Medicine' under the TCM Education Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education, vice president of the Pediatrics Professional Committee of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, deputy chair of the Pediatrics Branch of the China Association of Chinese Medicine, and holds other positions.

The specialty currently has 1 national Qihuang Scholar, 2 experts receiving special allowances from the State Council, 2 national young and middle-aged experts with outstanding contributions to health, 4 Tianjin Famous TCM Physicians, 2 Tianjin Teaching Masters, 1 Tianjin titled expert, 5 National Outstanding TCM Clinical Talents, 4 instructors and 13 inheritors in the national academic-experience inheritance program for veteran TCM experts, 1 Young Qihuang Scholar, 3 person-appointments as honorary chairs or chairs and 11 person-appointments as deputy chairs of national secondary-level societies, 1 Tianjin Jinmen Medical Talent and 1 Medical Rising Star, and 1 'Young and Middle-aged Backbone Innovative Talent' at a Tianjin university.

Academic leader - Professor Ma Rong

Discipline leader - Professor Li Xinmin

III. Specialty Advantages

The discipline has outpatient clinics at the North Campus and South Campus, an emergency department, wards, and an intensive care unit; it has more than 20 rooms in total, including outpatient consultation rooms, special treatment rooms, emergency consultation rooms, and a clinical laboratory, as well as two ward units in the South Campus. It also operates a pediatric teaching and research office, a laboratory, a children's new-drug research office, a children's transdermal drug absorption research office, and others for clinical teaching and scientific research.

In this specialty, stable research teams, dedicated specialty outpatient clinics, and distinct research priorities have been established in several areas: pediatric neurological diseases (epilepsy, tic disorder, hyperactivity disorder, autism), pulmonary diseases (pneumonia, asthma, chronic cough and wheezing, recurrent respiratory infections), cardiovascular diseases (myocarditis, myocardial injury), renal and immune diseases (allergic purpura, nephropathy, hematuria), digestive system diseases (functional gastrointestinal disorders), endocrinology and hematology (precocious puberty, short stature), as well as pediatric rehabilitation, pediatric massage, child healthcare, skin diseases, and many other areas.

IV. Results

This specialty adheres to the academic requirement that clinical practice and scientific research advance together: it derives research ideas from clinical problems and uses research results to address clinical blind spots. The specialty has undertaken many research projects, including 20 national-level projects as principal investigator and 21 provincial- and ministerial-level projects, and has received 2 first prizes, 13 second prizes, and 19 third prizes for provincial- and ministerial-level scientific and technological progress. It has obtained 5 patents and developed 23 in-hospital preparations. It has served as chief editor for 19 national-level planned textbooks and monographs, including 'Pediatrics of Traditional Chinese Medicine'. In the past 6 years, it has published 8 SCI papers and more than 300 papers in Chinese-language journals.