The Department of Nephrology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University was established in the early 1990s under the guidance of renowned nephrology and toxicology expert Professor Zheng Weiru from Shanghai Medical University, and cardiovascular expert Professor Chen Yunzhen. Since its inception, it has become one of the most prominent nephrology departments in the Southwest China, integrating clinical practice, teaching, and research. In 1995, the department was granted the right to confer a master’s degree in Internal Medicine, and in 2000, it was authorized to confer a doctorate in Internal Medicine (Nephrology). In 2009, it was included in the Chongqing Municipal Medical Key Disciplines (Nephrology) construction project. In 2010, it was approved as the Chongqing Hemodialysis Quality Control Center and a training base for specialized nurses in blood purification. In 2014, it became a national training base for blood purification in county-level hospitals. In 2016, the department was recognized as a key clinical specialty by Chongqing. In 2017, it was certified as a “National Hemodialysis Management Demonstration Center” by the Chinese Society of Nephrology and in February 2018, it received the “Outstanding Service Post for Improving Medical Services” award from the National Health Commission—a distinction it remains the only institution in the field of hemodialysis to have received. In the same year, the department was recognized as a Chongqing Clinical Key Specialty in Nephrology and took the lead in founding the Ba Yu Nephrology Specialty Alliance, serving as the chair unit. In 2022, it became one of the first National Hemoperfusion Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment Demonstration Centers and a training base for blood purification technology under the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission.
The department currently encompasses the Inpatient Ward, Blood Purification Center, and Nephrology Outpatient Clinic, with 100 beds in the ward. In the early 1970s, under the leadership of Professor Zheng Weiru, the department became one of the pioneers to perform kidney biopsy, and it is among the earliest institutions to engage in clinical and pathological research on kidney diseases in China. In recent years, the department has continuously standardized novel immunotherapies for glomerular diseases, enhanced the management of complex and critical kidney diseases and optimized the chronic disease management of chronic kidney disease (CKD), reaching nationally advanced level in the diagnosis and treatment of various kidney conditions in China.
Currently, the department is one of the largest hemodialysis centers in China, with two hemodialysis units, one located at the headquarters and the other located at the first branch of the hospital. The center is equipped with cutting-edge, internationally recognized hemodialysis machines and water treatment systems. It has established a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) for hemodialysis vascular access and CKD-MBD, and offers sub-specialties in hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and CRRT.
Among these sub-specialties, hemodialysis vascular access is the most distinctive and influential one. With more than 3,100 surgeries performed annually, and over 1,800 of these being day surgeries, the department has become one of the largest and most influential vascular access centers and training bases in China. Its interventional treatments for vascular access are internationally recognized. The department was the first in the world to report on “ultrasound-guided intervention for reopening a 13-year-occluded arteriovenous fistula” and proposed the “Mother-child” technique for treating central vein occlusion. Additionally, it initiated the creation of China’s first Expert Recommendations for Interventional Treatment of Central Venous Lesions Related to Hemodialysis Access.
The department is one of the earliest institutions in China to implement CRRT for rescuing critically ill patients. The team has developed an array of advanced techniques, including traditional CRRT, double plasma molecular absorption, double-membrane plasma exchange, and artificial liver, in addition to emerging technologies such as extracorporeal CO2 removal, endotoxin adsorption in sepsis, inflammatory mediator/cytokine adsorption, and plasma immunoadsorption. These pioneering approaches have created a new and highly effective platform for blood purification and organ support in critically ill, multi-disciplinary, and multi-field patients, dramatically enhancing patient outcomes.
Currently, several physicians in the department hold prominent positions as committee members or chairpersons of subcommittees in national academic societies, as well as leadership roles in provincial nephrology societies. The department has received dozens of national and provincial research grants, including funding from the National Natural Science Foundation. The key research areas include kidney damage caused by glycolipid metabolic disorders, management and prevention of complications in chronic kidney disease and vascular access management. The department has published nearly 100 SCI papers, filed more than ten utility model patents, and authored or co-authored over ten monographs. In 2023, it received the China Hospital Association’s Hospital Technology Innovation Award and in 2022 and 2023, it won the First Prize in the Hemodialysis Technology Application and Academic Promotion Project of the Chongqing Medical Association, as well as the Second Prize for Complications Diagnosis and Treatment Technology.
In recent years, the department has focused extensively on the promotion of blood dialysis technology and talent development in Chongqing. It has undertaken projects such as the Appropriate Technology Promotion Project of the Chongqing Health Commission, Hemodialysis Specialist (Doctor/Technician) Training by the Chongqing Medical Association, and Hemodialysis Specialist Nurse Training in Chongqing. In the field of vascular access, the team has pioneered a “multi-mode, multi-platform, multi-dimensional” technology promotion and training system in China, establishing a national platform for “training, assessment, certification” in vascular access treatment techniques. This initiative has ensured the standardization and consistency of technology promotion across the country. The department has trained over 400 medical staff from 25 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China and its members have delivered outstanding presentations at more than 300 domestic and international academic conferences.