1.Core Information

　　The Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) at Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital is a Guangdong Key Clinical Discipline of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a Guangdong Key Laboratory for Infectious Diseases with Traditional Chinese Medicine, and a Shenzhen Key Clinical Discipline of TCM. The department also hosts a National Expert Workstation of TCM and serves as a core unit driving the hospital’s integrative medicine.The department currently has 17 physicians, including 6 with senior professional titles, and 14 nurses, including 1 with a senior professional title. Among its academic staff are 1 doctoral supervisor and 2 master’s supervisors. The team includes 1 Guangdong Provincial high-level talent, 2 Shenzhen high-level talentes, and 1 Shenzhen renowned TCM expert.

　　2.Clinical Services

　　Liver Diseases: The department provides integrative medical treatment for liver cancer, cirrhosis, and liver failure. For liver cancer, Chinese medicine approaches such as “Shu-gan-jian-pii, Hua-yu-jie-du” combined with surgery, intervention therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. For cirrhosis, treatment focuses on “Ruan-gan-suo-pi, Huo-xue-hua-yu” approach. In the compensated stage, therapy aims to “Yi-qi-huo-xue, Ruan-jian-san-jie”, in the decompensated stage, emphasis is placed on complications such as ascites, jaundice, and gastrointestinal bleeding. For liver failure, treatment follows the academic approach of “Liang-xue-huo-xue” through increasing the dose of Chishao herb, with “Chi-shao-cheng-qi” Decoction serving as an important therapy for chronic severe hepatitis.

　　Respiratory Disease: The department manages a wide range of respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchial asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, bronchiectasis, refractory nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease, and drug-resistant tuberculosis. In the acute stage, the focus is on “Qing-re-jie-du, Hua-tan-ping-chuan”, in the recovery stage, treatment emphasizes “Bu-fei-yi-shen, Jian-pi-hua-tan”. For the complicated infections, the department has developed approaches such as Chinese medicine combined with fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), and the use of active compounds from herbs to reverse drug-resistance. For tuberculous lymphadenitis, the department pioneered an integrative therapy characterizing with Chinese medicine, which has been introduced in several hospitals across Shenzhen.

　　Infectious Diseases: Based on the experience in the management of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, the department has developed an integrated treatment strategy featuring individualized care and comprehensive intervention. It participated in the formulation of the Shenzhen Protocol for the Integrated Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19, and related approaches received recognition from the World Health Organization. The department has also developed several in-house herbal formulations that have been widely adopted within the hospital.

　　Rehabilitation: The department provides integrated rehabilitation services for patients with respiratory disease, liver disease, neurological disorders, and cancer. For pulmonary rehabilitation, therapies such as Du-mai moxibustion, acupoint herbal application,  herbal plaster therapy, breathing training, and aerobic exercise are used to improve lung function and quality of life in patients with COPD and pulmonary fibrosis. For liver disease rehabilitation, interventions including abdominal massage, herbal compress therapy, moxibustion, and cognitive training help relieve symptoms such as ascites, postoperative abdominal distension, poor appetite, and fatigue. For pain rehabilitation, therapies such as acupuncture,massage, cupping, gua-sha, electrotherapy, and infrared therapy are used for neck, shoulder, back, and leg pain, facial neuritis, and post-stroke sequelae. For oncology rehabilitation, the department provides cancer pain management, fatigue relief, nutritional support, and emotional care based on TCM principles, helping improve the quality of life of patients with liver cancer, lung cancer, and other malignancies.

　　3.Special Features & Advantages

　　Distinctive therapies to Major Liver Diseases:The department has developed well-established and clinically validated treatment approaches for liver cancer, cirrhosis, and liver failure. For liver cancer, the department follows the principle of reducing toxicity and enhancing efficacy of anti-cancer drugs to suppress tumor development. According to disease stage, TCM therapies are integrated with surgery, intervention therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. After surgery or intervention therapy, herbs are used to help regulate the immune microenvironment and reduce the risk of recurrence and metastasis. For patients with late stage, TCM is combined with TACE or targeted therapy to help slow tumor progression while reducing liver function injury. For cirrhosis, the department has established a treatment model centered on “Ruan-gan-suo-pi, huo-xue-hua-yu”. Classic drugs such as Bie-jia-Jian Pill and Da-huang-zhe-chong Pill are used alongside etiologic treatment, forming a dual approach of cause-directed therapy plus anti-fibrotic treatment. For complications in the decompensated stage, such as ascites and portal hypertensive gastropathy, therapies including herbal compresses, acupoint application, and moxibustion are used to reduce recurrence of ascites and relieve gastrointestinal symptoms. For liver failure, the Chi-shao-cheng-qi Decoction is used as an important first-line treatment in the rescue of chronic severe hepatitis, especially in helping reduce bilirubin levels and improve coagulation function.

　　Respiratory Diseases: Supported by the National well-known TCM expert of Han Mingxiang , the department applies Professor Han’s academic philosophy of strengthening the body, eliminating pathogenic factors, and regulating lung function throughout the full course of respiratory disease management, forming a closed-loop system from prevention to treatment to rehabilitation. In prevention, services such as seasonal herbal teas and constitution assessment are provided for high-risk populations with conditions such as COPD and asthma, allowing early intervention to reduce acute exacerbations. In treatment, Professor Han’s experienced formula Bu-fei Decoction is adapted for clinical use in acute exacerbations of COPD and active pulmonary fibrosis, together with Du-mai moxibustion and acupoint herbal application to strengthen the body, and control symptom development. In rehabilitation, the physiotherapy team provides an integrated program, including Du-mai moxibustion, breathing exercises, and aerobic training, which has reduced hospitalization for acute COPD by approximately 30%.

　　Rehabilitation: The department has developed four major rehabilitation subspecialties. Liver rehabilitation: For patients with cirrhotic ascites or postoperative liver cancer, therapies such as abdominal massage, herbal compresses, moxibustion, and cognitive training are used to relieve abdominal distension, poor appetite, and fatigue. Pulmonary rehabilitation: For patients with COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, and post-COVID conditions, the department has established an unique program combining Du-mai moxibustion, acupoint herbal application, and breathing training. With weekly moxibustion, patients can achieve significant improvement in 6-minute walk distance. Pain rehabilitation: Acupuncture has shown an effectiveness rate of over 90% in the treatment of facial neuritis. Oncology rehabilitation: For patients with liver cancer and lung cancer, the department has established an integrated rehabilitation model combining cancer pain management, nutritional support, and emotional care.

　　4.Education & Research

　　Over the past five years, TCM department has made significant progress in research funding, high-quality publications, and scientific awards, providing strong support for improved clinical practice.

　　Research Projects and Funding: The department has undertaken more than 10 national-level projects, including grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, major national programs on infectious diseases during the 12th and 13th Five-Year Plans, and the National Key R&D Program of China. It has also received more than 20 provincial and municipal research projects from Guangdong Province and Shenzhen. Total research funding has exceeded RMB 30 million. Representative projects include research on traditional Chinese medicine for drug-resistant tuberculosis, the mechanism by which Chong-lian Oral Liquid inhibits influenza-induced acute lung injury through the JAK-STAT6 pathway, the role of Jian-pi-huo-xue-jie-du Formula in regulating the liver cancer microenvironment through the CCL2-CCR2 axis, and the supportive use of Xiang-jiu-gao inhalation during antitumor treatment in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

　　High-Quality Publications: We have published 66 SCI-indexed papers in journals such as Nature Metabolism, Nature Communications, and Science Signaling as first or corresponding authors, and have participated in 28 publications. These works have a combined impact factor of over 500 and have been cited more than 3,000 times. The department has received Awards in Natural Science from the Ministry of Education, Guangdong Province, and Shenzhen. The department has also participated in the development of five standards, ten expert consensuses on infectious disease diagnosis and treatment, and seven major professional monographs.

　　Platform Development and Talent Training: The department has been approved as a Key Discipline for Infectious Diseases with TCM in Guangdong Province, a Provincial Key Research Laboratory, a Shenzhen Municipal Key discipline of TCM. In August 2023, the Han Mingxiang TCM Workstation was established, and a team of five experts was introduced. The department has strengthened the ability of research through academic exchange. It undertakes postgraduate training for multiple universities, including Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, and Southern University of Science and Technology, and has trained more than 10 postgraduate students. It has also received more than 20 visiting trainees from other province. In addition, the department led the establishment of the Infectious Diseases Committee of the Shenzhen Society of integrated Medicine, and has organized national academic conferences and continuing education programs in infectious diseases.