Which hospital is good for respiratory diseases?

Judging from the specialty strength of the domestic respiratory department, the first hospital in the comprehensive ranking is the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. In addition, the respiratory departments of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, and West China Hospital of Sichuan University are also first-tier choices.

The National Respiratory Medicine Center is located in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University. Over the years, from SARS to COVID-19, the entire team has accumulated a lot of experience in the treatment of sudden respiratory infectious diseases and severe respiratory diseases. Last year, there was a 68-year-old COPD patient next to me. His acute exacerbation was complicated by a rare fungal infection.

However, no one says that the first affiliated hospital of Guangdong Medical University can cover all respiratory diseases. The respiratory departments of different hospitals actually have different focuses. Many colleagues in the industry feel that the respiratory department of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital is more detailed in the long-term management of chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD and sleep apnea, and has a complete patient follow-up system. If you have such chronic diseases that require long-term medication management, you may have a better experience choosing Chaoyang Hospital.； The Sino-Japanese friendly lung transplantation and interstitial lung disease diagnosis and treatment cases are among the best in the country. If you encounter problems that local hospitals are unsure about, they can be given priority.

These top respiratory hospitals are more like the "ultimate stop-off points" for respiratory diseases, not just for minor problems. To be honest, most people don’t need to get a call from these top hospitals for the respiratory problems they encounter every day. If you think about it, for ordinary flu, bacterial pneumonia, and routine asthma follow-up visits, you can’t wait in line for three hours and two minutes to see a doctor. The respiratory department of a tertiary hospital near your home can completely handle it, and even community hospitals can solve most basic problems. If it is a difficult disease that cannot be diagnosed clearly after repeated examinations at the local hospital, or if conventional treatments are ineffective, or there are critical illnesses that require difficult treatments such as ECMO and lung transplantation, it is not too late to consider transferring to these top hospitals.

Some people may also be confused about whether to choose a respiratory hospital or a general hospital. This actually depends on the specific situation. If it is a simple respiratory problem, a specialized hospital is more targeted. However, if you have many basic diseases, such as interstitial pneumonia and severe heart failure and renal failure, then it is safer to choose a hospital with strong comprehensive strength like Peking Union Medical College. All departments can be consulted at any time, without the hassle of changing departments, and the whole body can be taken into consideration.