Department of Nephrology
Department of Nephrology

The Nephrology Department that established in 1986 is a branch of the National Clinical Research Center for Chronic Kidney Diseases in Guangdong Province. As one of the  national key discipline and an important base for clinical trials of drugs at the national level, our department has continued to be a training base for the following: clinical research in various key areas, key courses at tertiary level, hemodialysis, and clinical nurse specialists for peritoneal dialysis in the Guangdong province. In the year 2019, the department was awarded as one of the “Most Recommended Hospital Departments in Guangdong Province”. The Nephrology Department is also a conferring unit for doctoral and master degrees, other than acting as a postdoctoral mobile research station for internal medicine (nephropathy) of Sun Yat-sen University.

The Nephrology Department is located in two areas: the headquarter of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital and its southern campus. Based on the motto of “one body, two wings” which is endorsed by the hospital, the Nephrology Department has established a high-quality medical system focusing on nephrology, with the Nephrology Department in the headquarter as the main body, and others in the Huadu branch and the Nephrology Center in Shenshan acting as the two wings. At this point of time, the department has set up seven units, which include specialist outpatient clinics, inpatient wards, blood purification center, peritoneal dialysis center, renal ultrasound center, laboratories for kidney diseases, and a professional group for clinical trials on nephrology drugs. Furthermore, the department also consists of six subspeciality groups for the following areas:immunologic kidney disease; renal pathology; management of chronic kidney disease; hemodialysis and vascular access; peritoneal dialysis; critical nephrology and kidney transplant. Aside from the emphasis on integrating medicine, education and research as its key backbone, the department also boasts advanced medical technology with a massive pool of talent that is made up of 70 doctors, nurses and technicians. Among them are 28physicians, of which 5 hold senior professional titles (2 senior and 3 senior associate), 8 hold intermediate professional titles, 2 PhD and postdoctoral co-supervisors, and 4 master supervisors. On an annual basis, the department receives over 30,000 outpatient visits and more than 2,000 patient admissions, as well as helping at least 400 patients with hemodialysis and abdominal dialysis.

Featured Medical Technology

We provide seamless, one-stop care for our patients who has metabolic and immunological renal diseases. Due to our outstanding healthcare work, the department has reached the advanced national level as set by China in diagnosis and treatment for diseases such as IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritis, renal vasculitis, refractory nephrotic syndrome,diabetic nephropathy, hypertensive nephropathy, and uric acid nephropathy. The department also regularly conducts ultrasound-guided percutaneous renal biopsies, holds clinical pathology seminars, and formulates precise and individualized diagnosis and treatment schemes based on renal pathology. In addition, the department has standardized the process for diagnosis and treatment of serious kidney diseases, including acute kidney injury and cases requiring continuous blood purification treatment. Moreover, the department stresses on the aspects of nutrition, sports rehabilitation and psychology as part of the recuperation program for patients who suffer from chronic kidney disease and those who have received kidney transplant. Aside from being innovative in fields of its strength, the department also performs routine tasks such as peritoneal dialysis catheter placement, ultrasound-guided percutaneous peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion, automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) treatment and remote patient management (RPM). A smart peritoneal dialysis center was built in 2019 to promote the intelligent follow-up management mode for peritoneal dialysis. With the assistance of the world’s leading water treatment system from B. Braun, the department is able to carry out autologous arteriovenous fistula surgery and dialysis using ultrapure fluid. Aside from that, the department also offers various blood purification treatments and technologies such as hemodialysis, hemodiafiltration, plasma exchange, hemoperfusion and plasma adsorption.

Scientific Research Results

Besides its role as the training center for Sun Yat-sen University in nurturing clinically- and research-oriented graduate and doctoral students, the Nephrology Department is also the training base for resident physicians and blood purification specialists in the Guangdong Province. It provides lectures of major theoretical courses on diagnostics and internal medicine for the five-year and eight-year medical students of Sun Yat-sen University. Professor Qiongqiong Yang , who is the academic leader of the department and a member of the editorial board,undertakes tasks related to the planning of a national-level textbook for postgraduates called Nephrology(third edition), and a textbook for the standardized training program called Internal Medicine and Nephrology(second edition). Up until today, the department has cultivated more than 50 graduates with a master degree and over 10 graduates with a doctorate degree. Five doctors from the Nephrology Department have won multiple prizes in teaching competitions, including‘Outstanding Clinical Educator of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital in Undergraduate Education’, ‘Outstanding Resident Trainer’, and ‘Ye Rengao-Li Youji Couple Award for Outstanding Young and Middle-aged Clinical Medicine Teachersof Sun Yat-sen University’.
A series of clinical and fundamental studies have been conducted by the Nephrology Department on multiple subjects in the field of nephropathy. More than 90 academic papers that focus on IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritisand acute kidney injury were published, with over 30 papers included in SCI. Moreover, the department has received over 40 types of funding, including those from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Guangdong Natural Science Foundation. The department has set up a registration system for the clinical information of IgAnephropathy and a follow-up list, creating a specialized platform for the diagnosis and treatment of IgA nephropathy. In addition, the department strives to enhance its capability in clinical diagnosis and treatment by actively participating in various domestic and international multi-center clinical research projects over the years. As a member of the expert committee, Professor Yang Qiongqiong has contributed in the compilation process of a variety of domestic guidelines or expert consensus. She has also won the second prize in the 2018 Chinese Medical Science Award as a primary participant.