Hepatology and Infectious Diseases Department

I. Basic Overview, Qualifications and Honors The Department of Liver Diseases and Infectious Diseases of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen University was established in 2004. After years of development, it has become a comprehensive specialty integrating medical care, teaching, scientific research, and preventive health care. The department has a specialty ward, a liver disease outpatient clinic, an intestinal outpatient clinic, and a fever outpatient clinic. It is equipped with advanced diagnostic, treatment, and research equipment to provide patients with precise and standardized medical services. The department currently serves as the deputy-chair institution of the Primary Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment Professional Committee of the Fujian Primary Health Association, the deputy-leader institution of the Viral Liver Disease Group of the Infectious Disease Physicians Branch of the Fujian Medical Doctors Association, and the deputy-chair institution of the Xiamen Infectious Disease Quality Control Center. It is also a national standardized residency training base. The standardized development of the discipline and the quality control of diagnosis and treatment have received official recognition and authorization from the competent health authorities at the provincial and municipal levels. The department has 45 open beds, enjoys an excellent reputation for its medical services, has a patient satisfaction rate of over 98%, and provides inpatient services to nearly 2,000 people each year. It is a core department in southwestern Fujian for standardized diagnosis and treatment of liver and infectious diseases, critical-care rescue, and public-health emergency response.

Third-party endorsement Relying on the authoritative platform of a tertiary Grade A hospital directly affiliated with Xiamen University, the department has worked intensively in hepatology and infectious diseases for more than 20 years. Its standardized practice, diagnostic and treatment expertise, and public-health emergency response capabilities have received multiple authoritative endorsements from provincial and municipal health administrative departments, the municipal quality control center, and leading specialized institutions in China. As the deputy-chair institution of the Xiamen Infectious Disease Quality Control Center, it has long participated in formulating regional quality standards for the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, quality-control supervision, and promotion of professional standards, and undertakes responsibility for leading the harmonization of specialized diagnosis and treatment across the region. The department has established a difficult-case collaboration system with leading tertiary Grade A hospitals in China, including Xiangya Hospital of Central South University and the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University. Its diagnostic and treatment plans and critical-care procedures are aligned with China’s first-class standards. At the same time, relying on Xiamen University’s university research and teaching platform, it continuously conducts high-level research and talent development; its academic achievements and clinical efficacy have been widely recognized by peers throughout China. Several of the team’s research achievements have been translated into clinical practice. The level of clinical cure for chronic hepatitis B and the success rate of treatment for severe liver disease have reached an advanced national level. The team has repeatedly been invited to other hospitals for difficult-case consultations and to provide guidance on the standardized use of antibiotics, demonstrating outstanding professional credibility and regional influence. In addition, the department routinely undertakes public-service tasks such as regional public-health prevention and control, health education, and primary-care physician training. It is a benchmark regional department for the prevention and treatment of liver and infectious diseases, recognized by the government, acknowledged by peers, and trusted by patients.

II. Core Diagnostic and Treatment Scope The department’s services cover the two core fields of liver diseases and infectious diseases, providing standardized diagnostic and treatment services for all types of patients: 1. Liver diseases: diagnosis and treatment of viral hepatitis, metabolic dysfunction-associated liver diseases, autoimmune liver diseases, drug-induced liver injury, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and difficult-to-diagnose liver diseases; standardized treatment is provided for severe liver diseases such as hepatic encephalopathy, liver failure, and hepatorenal syndrome. 2. Infectious diseases: diagnosis and treatment of infections caused by viruses, bacteria, atypical pathogens, fungi, and parasites of all kinds; the department also manages fever of unknown origin and difficult or severe infections, and undertakes response tasks related to sudden public-health emergencies.

III. Specialized Subspecialties and Core Technical Strengths (1) Liver Disease Subspecialty The department is the only one in the city to perform whole-exome sequencing (WES) within the hospital and routinely performs pathological biopsy of liver tissue. These services provide a basis for the precise diagnosis of all types of liver disease and support the development of individualized treatment plans for patients. For severe liver diseases such as hepatic encephalopathy, liver failure, and hepatorenal syndrome, the department has established a standardized system of comprehensive internal-medicine treatment and dynamic evaluation. It has extensive clinical rescue experience and provides a strong safeguard for the treatment of patients with severe liver disease. The overall rescue-treatment success rate for severe liver disease has reached an advanced national level. Artificial-liver treatment and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) are routinely provided.

(2) Infectious Disease Subspecialty The department routinely applies next-generation sequencing (NGS) metagenomics (mNGS) and multiplex PCR technology to rapidly and accurately identify pathogens, supporting early and precise treatment of all types of infectious diseases. It specializes in diagnosing and treating infections caused by all types of pathogens, as well as fever of unknown origin and difficult or severe infections.

IV. Multidisciplinary MDT Comprehensive Diagnosis and Treatment and Whole-course Management The department adheres to the service philosophy of “early screening – precise intervention – whole-course management” and emphasizes humanistic care, providing patients with a warm and comfortable medical environment. It routinely implements MDT collaboration mechanisms for fatty liver disease, liver tumors, difficult liver diseases, and difficult infections. It has established a difficult-case collaboration system with Xiangya Hospital and the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, as well as a seamless coordination system for liver transplantation in end-stage liver disease with the Department of Liver Transplantation of Xiamen University Xiang’an Hospital. From early screening, diagnosis, and treatment of liver cancer to long-term follow-up management of chronic liver diseases such as fatty liver disease and hepatitis B, we provide one-stop services throughout the entire course of care. The department was the first in the city to establish a comprehensive patient health database, ensuring that every medical encounter is evidence-based and that patients can proceed through the entire course of care without worry. Public-health services such as health education and charitable free clinics are conducted regularly every year.

V. Talent Team and Expert Strength The department has a professionally trained medical team with a well-balanced structure and clear career levels, forming a specialized diagnostic and treatment team led by highly educated professionals and centered on young and middle-aged key members. All team members graduated from well-known medical schools in China and possess significant technical strengths in the diagnosis of difficult liver diseases, treatment of severe liver diseases, precise diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, and response to sudden public-health emergencies. The team currently includes 1 chief physician and 3 associate chief physicians, of whom 2 hold doctoral degrees and 7 hold master’s degrees; there is 1 supervisor of master’s students, 1 supervisor of doctoral students, 1 Xiamen young innovative talent, and 1 Xiamen high-level talent. The nursing team comprises 1 person with a master’s degree, 14 with bachelor’s degrees, and 4 with junior-college degrees, including 2 associate chief nurses, 9 charge nurses, and 8 nurses holding the professional ranks of nurse specialist and nurse. The department’s core professionals have undertaken further study and training at leading hospitals in China and abroad, including the National Institutes of Health of the United States, Nanfang Hospital, and Beijing Ditan Hospital. They have broad professional perspectives and solid clinical experience. Team members collectively account for more than 10 person-times of appointments such as deputy chair and executive committee member in national- and provincial-level academic societies, giving the team substantial academic influence in the field.

VI. Coordinated Development of Medical Care, Education, and Research (1) Medical Services Relying on its complete diagnostic and treatment layout of a specialty ward, liver disease outpatient clinic, intestinal outpatient clinic, and fever outpatient clinic, and equipped with advanced diagnostic, treatment, and research equipment, the department strictly follows diagnostic and treatment standards in managing all types of liver and infectious diseases. Through excellent medical expertise and high-quality services, it helps patients recover as soon as possible. The department vigorously advances specialty nursing services and creates a humanistic ward. It provides traditional Chinese medicine external treatments, including auricular point seed pressing, traditional Chinese medicine wet compresses, traditional Chinese medicine applications, and traditional Chinese medicine hot herbal packs, to improve discomfort such as insomnia, constipation, and abdominal distension. Through the “Wish Tree” and health-education resources, it provides education on specialty medications and diet as well as rehabilitation guidance; it supplies convenience items, emphasizes psychological counseling, integrates humanistic care throughout the nursing process, and substantially improves patients’ sense of benefit and satisfaction during medical care. Each year, the team is invited several times to other hospitals for consultations, diagnosis and treatment of difficult infections, and guidance on the rational use of antibiotics, providing professional support for difficult cases outside the hospital.

(2) Teaching and Training The department undertakes teaching assignments for the School of Medicine of Xiamen University and Xiamen Medical College, and has trained a large number of professionals in infectious diseases. It regularly holds academic exchange activities and continuously improves the department’s overall diagnostic and treatment capabilities. It routinely conducts primary-care physician training and clinical teaching, continuously develops high-quality specialty professionals, and supports the standardized development of regional hepatology and infectious disease disciplines.

(3) Research and Innovation The department has led more than 10 national- and provincial-level research projects and published more than 30 high-level academic papers in internationally renowned journals, continuously advancing the level of diagnosis and treatment in infectious diseases. Focusing on precise diagnosis and treatment of chronic liver diseases, it conducts a series of studies, including research on clinical cure of chronic hepatitis B. The probability of clinical cure is at an advanced national level. The department uses clinical problems to drive research innovation and feeds research achievements back into the upgrading of clinical diagnosis and treatment.

VII. Summary of the Department’s Core Advantages 1. Complete functional system: As a comprehensive specialty integrating medical care, teaching, scientific research, and preventive health care, the department has a specialty ward and three types of specialty outpatient clinics—liver disease, intestinal, and fever clinics—to meet the consultation needs of patients with different types of liver and infectious diseases. It also holds multiple authoritative qualifications from provincial- and municipal-level academic societies and the municipal quality control center, and its standardized and normalized disciplinary development is a regional leader. 2. Well-structured talent tiers: The team has a clear structure of professional titles and educational backgrounds and includes doctoral and master’s supervisors, municipal high-level talent, and young innovative talent. All core professionals graduated from well-known medical schools in China and received further training at leading specialized institutions in China and abroad. They possess outstanding technical strengths in difficult liver diseases, severe infections, and response to sudden public-health emergencies, hold numerous academic positions, and enjoy high recognition in the field. 3. Precise diagnostic and treatment technology: In the field of liver disease, the department routinely performs whole-exome sequencing and pathological biopsy of liver tissue and has established a standardized comprehensive treatment and dynamic evaluation system for severe liver disease. Critical-care technologies such as artificial-liver treatment and CRRT are well established. In infectious diseases, mNGS and multiplex PCR are routinely used to rapidly identify pathogens, enabling precise diagnosis and treatment of difficult infections and fever of unknown origin. Its overall technical level is advanced nationally. 4. Comprehensive diagnostic and treatment coverage: Services cover precise diagnosis and treatment of all types of liver disease, treatment of severe liver disease, and diagnosis and treatment of infections caused by all types of pathogens, fever of unknown origin, and difficult or severe infections. The department has established multidisciplinary MDT, interhospital collaboration, and seamless liver-transplant coordination systems, creating a closed-loop service covering the entire cycle from screening and diagnosis and treatment to rehabilitation and follow-up. 5. High professional recognition: The department undertakes core functions including regional quality control, primary-care training, difficult-case consultation, and public-health emergency response. It has established collaboration systems with leading hospitals in China. Its diagnostic and treatment standards, rescue capabilities, and research and teaching achievements have received dual recognition from competent authorities and peers, while patient satisfaction remains consistently high.

VIII. Department Vision The department will continue to deepen its work in the diagnosis and treatment of liver and infectious diseases, continuously improve its capacity for precise diagnosis and treatment and its ability to treat acute, critical, and severe illnesses, improve the service system of “early screening – precise intervention – whole-course management,” strengthen disciplinary talent development and coordinated medical, educational, and research development, and wholeheartedly provide the public with higher-quality, more compassionate medical services. It will help improve regional prevention and treatment capabilities for liver and infectious diseases and contribute to protecting the life and health of the people. Patients are welcome to contact us and seek medical care. We will wholeheartedly provide you with high-quality medical services.