Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Ward III (Pulmonary Disease Department III)

The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (Pulmonary Disease Department) of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, together with the Institute of Respiratory Diseases of the Xinjiang Academy of Chinese Medicine Research, is the lead unit for the National Clinical Key Specialty, the key discipline of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Regional Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnosis and Treatment Center (Pulmonary Diseases), and the pilot project for integrated Chinese and Western medicine clinical collaboration on major and difficult diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD). It is a key discipline of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, namely the discipline of “integrated Chinese and Western medicine”; the respiratory specialty department of a National New Drug Clinical Trial Institution; a department for master’s and doctoral training in integrated Chinese and Western respiratory medicine at Xinjiang Medical University; and also the only National Clinical Research Base for Traditional Chinese Medicine in Northwest China. Its principal disease under study is “chronic obstructive disease”.

The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine is currently the largest respiratory specialty department in Xinjiang. It has 207 authorized beds, admits more than 10,000 inpatient person-visits annually, and records more than 50,000 outpatient person-visits annually. It has 45 physicians, including 12 with senior professional titles and 15 with intermediate professional titles. Thirty-seven staff members hold doctoral or master’s degrees, and personnel with master’s or doctoral degrees account for 86%. The department currently has a total area of 2370 m² and consists of a clinical division and a research division. The clinical division comprises Ward 1, Ward 2, Ward 3, the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU), the respiratory outpatient clinic, the pulmonary function laboratory, the respiratory interventional diagnosis and treatment room, and other units. Each ward has its own professional focus: Ward 1 focuses on pulmonary tumors, COPD, asthma, and pneumonia; Ward 2 focuses on fever of unknown origin, pulmonary embolism, COPD, asthma, and pneumonia; and Ward 3 focuses on interstitial lung diseases, sleep-related breathing disorders, COPD, asthma, and pneumonia. The research division consists of the Xinjiang National Clinical Research Base, the Medical Research Design and Data Processing Center of the Affiliated Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Xinjiang Medical University, the patient follow-up clinic, and the Autonomous Region Key Laboratory—the Xinjiang Respiratory Disease Research Laboratory. It mainly conducts integrated Chinese and Western medicine research on the prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases.

The department currently performs allergen testing, pulmonary function testing, airway provocation testing, and invasive and noninvasive mechanical ventilation; routine bronchoscopy, endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration biopsy (EBUS-TBNA), balloon dilation, bronchial thermoplasty, endobronchial stent placement, interventional chemotherapy for tumors, and other procedures; as well as CT-guided percutaneous lung puncture and other diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. In recent years, under the leadership of Professor Li Fengsen, the respiratory team has developed in-hospital Traditional Chinese Medicine preparations for common respiratory diseases such as COPD, asthma, and novel-coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19): Yiqi Gubiao Pills, Xuanfei Huatan Granules, Sangxing Zhike Powder, Qufeng Zhijing Capsules, Ganlu Qingwen Mixture, and Shenmai Ningfei Mixture. All have achieved good clinical efficacy.

Pulmonary Disease Department III currently has 21 medical and nursing staff members, including 7 physicians and 13 nurses; 4 with senior professional titles, 7 with intermediate professional titles, and 11 with junior professional titles. Eight staff members hold doctoral or master’s degrees. It has 56 fixed beds, admits more than 1,500 inpatient person-visits annually, records more than 14,000 outpatient person-visits annually, and has an average length of stay of 9.00 days.

Since 2014, the Department of Respiratory Medicine has further refined its specialties. In addition to admitting common diseases such as chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchial asthma, and pneumonia, Pulmonary Disease Department III has focused on the subspecialties of diffuse interstitial lung disease, commonly known as pulmonary interstitial fibrosis, and sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome, commonly known as snoring or snoring disorder. It has improved the clinical pathways and diagnostic and treatment standards for diffuse interstitial lung disease and sleep-related breathing disorders. For interstitial lung diseases, the department performs T-cell subset classification in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid obtained through electronic bronchoscopy, high-throughput sequencing technology (NGS) testing, CT-guided percutaneous lung puncture, cryogenic lung biopsy performed using electronic bronchoscopy, and other procedures, further improving the clinical diagnosis and treatment of interstitial lung diseases. It admits approximately 500 inpatient person-visits of patients with interstitial lung disease annually.

The department currently has 2 full-time physicians specializing in sleep-related breathing disorders and 1 part-time physician. It has 2 PSG polysomnography systems and 30 portable sleep-testing devices, and performs more than 5,000 patient-visits for testing annually. The department’s sleep-disorder subspecialty is currently a national PCCM single-specialty training base; it enrolls 2–3 trainees each year and has trained 6 trainees to date. Based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine theory of syndrome differentiation and treatment, and tailored to each patient’s specific condition, the department provides comprehensive distinctive Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments, including auricular point seed pressing, Traditional Chinese Medicine acupoint application, Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal packs, Traditional Chinese Medicine enemas, acupuncture, moxibustion and massage, pneumatic compression of the limbs, cupping, and flash cupping. It makes full use of the advantages of Traditional Chinese Medicine in diffuse interstitial lung disease, develops distinctive decoctions and ointment preparations for treating pulmonary interstitial fibrosis, conducts standardized training throughout the department, improves clinical efficacy, and develops the professional characteristics of Pulmonary Disease Department III. At the same time, it has continuously strengthened exchanges and learning with prefectures and regions throughout the area, thereby enhancing the diagnostic and treatment capabilities of the Pulmonary Disease Department III subspecialty and its influence in the various prefectures.