Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

I. Department Overview

The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, was founded in the 1970s. It is a national-level clinical and scientific research platform integrating medical care, teaching, research, and translational work. In 1995, the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) was established, marking a qualitative leap in the department’s critical care capabilities and an innovation in its diagnostic and treatment concepts. The fight against the “SARS” epidemic in 2003 enabled the department to accumulate valuable clinical experience in respiratory infectious diseases and emergency treatment. The renewed test posed by the COVID-19 epidemic in 2019 allowed the experience accumulated by the Department of Respiratory Medicine to be further applied and validated in practice, truly achieving an iterative improvement in the capacity to treat major emerging and sudden infectious diseases. As the scale of its services and its disciplinary system continued to expand, the department was renamed the “Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine” to meet the national requirements for standardized development of disciplines in the health sector.

Today, the department is a core unit of the National Respiratory Clinical Medical Center, a national clinical trial base for drugs/devices, and a member unit of the Beijing Institute of Respiratory Diseases. It has also passed the national PCCM (Pulmonary Infection and Critical Care Medicine) standardized development certification (an excellent unit among tertiary hospitals). The department successively led the establishment of the Fungal Prevention and Control Diagnosis and Treatment Alliance comprising 145 hospitals nationwide and the Beijing Western Respiratory and Critical Care Alliance (covering 32 hospitals), promoting nationwide specialty collaboration and the development of a regional tiered diagnosis and treatment system. Its annual outpatient volume exceeds 100,000 visits. It has general ward units, intensive care unit units, a bronchoscopy intervention unit, a specialty outpatient unit, and a specialty examination unit. With chronic respiratory disease management as its foundation and the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases in older adults as its specialty, it has comprehensive capabilities for diagnosing and treating respiratory system diseases, including chronic pulmonary diseases, pulmonary nodules, pulmonary tumors, pulmonary infections, pulmonary vascular diseases, and respiratory critical illnesses.

II. Clinical Structure and Diagnostic and Treatment Features

The department follows the service philosophy of “excellence in technique and benevolence at heart” and has established a “one body, two wings” diagnostic and treatment system based on chronic disease management, with respiratory intervention and respiratory critical care as its specialties.

1. Full-Course Management of Chronic Respiratory Diseases

The department provides standardized diagnosis and treatment for chronic airway diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchial asthma, and bronchiectasis, as well as interstitial lung disease, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and other diseases. Relying on specialty clinics, the pulmonary function laboratory, and a chronic disease follow-up platform, it provides full-process management services from prevention, diagnosis, and treatment through long-term follow-up.

2. Respiratory Interventional Diagnosis and Treatment

The department has mature capabilities in interventional diagnosis and treatment of the airways. It routinely performs endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration biopsy (EBUS-TBNA), rigid bronchoscopy procedures, percutaneous lung puncture, and endoscopic cryotherapy, laser treatment, and radiofrequency ablation. It also performs radial-probe endobronchial ultrasound bronchoscopy combined with the guide sheath technique and bronchoscopic tracheal/bronchial balloon dilation and plasty, among other techniques, for precise diagnosis and minimally invasive treatment of difficult diseases such as pulmonary tumors and airway stenosis.

3. Respiratory Critical Care

The RICU is equipped with invasive/non-invasive ventilators, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation ECMO, and other advanced life-support systems, and implements techniques such as prone ventilation and lung-protective ventilation strategies in a standardized manner. Relying on a multidisciplinary team model (MDT), it advances the refined diagnosis and treatment of patients with complex respiratory failure and multiple organ dysfunction.

III. Specialty Platforms and Equipment Support

The department has a comprehensive platform for specialized respiratory examinations and functional assessment, including an independent bronchoscopy room, a complete pulmonary function testing facility (including cardiopulmonary exercise testing), a sleep respiratory monitoring room, and an image-guidance center. The Department of Respiratory Medicine of Xiong’an Xuanwu Hospital is also equipped with high-definition electronic bronchoscopes, advanced pulmonary function instruments, and a polysomnography system, providing solid technical support for precision diagnosis and treatment.

IV. Clinical Trials

The department strictly follows GCP/ICH-GCP standards and the Declaration of Helsinki. As a nationally certified clinical trial base for drugs/devices, it currently has 23 registered GCP research personnel and has completed 12 drug clinical trials. It has full-process capabilities for undertaking multicenter randomized controlled trials, real-world research, and investigator-initiated clinical research, with well-established systems covering protocol design, data management, and quality control.

V. Scientific Research and Translation:

The department’s research focuses on four major directions: chronic pulmonary diseases, microbiota dysbiosis, and immunity; early precision diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary fungal diseases; the efficacy and adverse reactions of targeted/immunotherapies for lung tumors; and the early diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of acute and chronic diseases at high altitude. In these areas, it currently undertakes 23 projects, including the National Science and Technology Major Project, the National Key R&D Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Beijing Dengfeng Program, and the Beijing Yangfan Program, as well as other national- and provincial/ministerial-level projects. It has published more than 100 SCI articles, with a total impact factor exceeding 600 points, and has established multiple clinical databases, among others, with the aim of promoting the translation of basic research results into clinical diagnostic reagents and treatment strategies.

VI. Talent Development and Teaching Responsibilities

The department has a professionally structured talent team led by renowned experts and comprising research and clinical personnel, including chief physicians, doctoral supervisors, master’s supervisors, and postdoctoral researchers. It has 16 physicians and 33 nursing and technical staff, including 11 holders of senior professional titles and 2 postdoctoral researchers. As a doctoral and master’s training site of Capital Medical University, the department has 3 doctoral supervisors. It undertakes undergraduate clinical medicine education, postgraduate education and training, and standardized training for residents/specialist physicians. Through systematic ward-round teaching, skills training, and academic activities, it cultivates future clinical and scientific research professionals. There are currently 12 graduate students enrolled.

VII. Discipline Development Model

VIII. Discipline Development Goals

Patient Visit Guide

Registration method: the Palm Xuanwu Hospital APP or WeChat Mini Program. New appointment slots are usually released at 14:00 each afternoon; advance attention is recommended.

Address: Respiratory Department Clinic Area, Fifth Floor, Outpatient Building, Xuanwu Hospital, No. 45 Changchun Street, Xicheng District, Beijing.