“A year’s plan begins in spring.” In the spring of 2021, when gentle breezes caressed the face and willows swayed gracefully, Nanjing Zijin Hospital launched its internal research project initiation process and the application procedure for new technologies and projects.

　　On the afternoon of April 1, 2022, once again during the most beautiful season of the year, the hospital convened a summary meeting on its 2021 in-house research projects and new technologies and initiatives.

　　We sow in spring, and we reap in spring as well. After a year of hard work, we have reaped abundant fruits.

　　Intravenous infusion: getting the first needle in right on the first try takes skill!

　　An intravenous catheter—just reading the description might leave some people puzzled, but a quick look at the picture will make it clear! Hey, isn’t that what the nurse uses to insert into our veins when we go to the hospital for an IV?

　　It is the most commonly performed new nursing technique in China. Not only does it alleviate the pain caused by repeated venipunctures, protect the veins, and facilitate clinical medication administration and emergency resuscitation, but it also reduces the workload of nurses and addresses the common challenges faced during patient transport—such as IV infusions that fail to drip, excessively slow drip rates, fluid leakage, and needle blockages that prevent timely administration of medications.

　　However, even a technique as beneficial as this can yield varying outcomes if the procedure is performed improperly or if the needle is inserted at an incorrect angle. Excessive blood return upon needle insertion and intense pain—have you ever experienced these issues? Nurse Supervisor Tong Xueyun, who has worked in the Nursing Department for more than a decade, has meticulously studied the puncture techniques for peripheral intravenous catheters to prevent such complications. Though it may seem like a basic nursing skill, achieving excellence in this area requires considerable expertise—and that’s precisely where the innovative aspect of their research lies.

　　If it takes three steps to put an elephant in a refrigerator, getting an indwelling needle into a patient’s vein smoothly certainly takes far more than three. After numerous trials, they found that this approach not only ensures successful insertion on the first attempt but also reduces the patient’s pain and the risk of bleeding.

　　The paper “Puncture Techniques for Peripheral Venous Catheters,” revised by Tong Xueyun and colleagues, was published in the journal Nursing Frontier.

　　How should shoulder pain associated with hemiplegia in stroke patients be treated?

　　Shoulder pain in hemiplegia is a common complication among patients with stroke (also known as “apoplexy”) and typically occurs during the critical period of upper‑limb functional recovery. In most cases, shoulder pain develops 2 to 3 months after the onset of stroke.

　　Shoulder pain in hemiplegic patients significantly impairs rehabilitation training and functional recovery, reduces their quality of life, and places an additional burden on their families.

　　The research topic of Dr. Jing Peng at the Rehabilitation Center is to evaluate the efficacy of precision injections guided by musculoskeletal ultrasound for hemiplegic shoulder pain. The study enrolled 60 inpatients with hemiplegic shoulder pain from Nanjing Zijin Hospital between April 2021 and December 2021, randomly assigned to a treatment group of 30 patients and a control group of 30 patients.

　　They found that, in clinical practice, precise injection of compound betamethasone under musculoskeletal ultrasound guidance for the treatment of hemiplegic shoulder pain can effectively alleviate pain and improve shoulder joint function. Moreover, this technique is simple to perform, fast-acting, highly accurate in localization, cost-effective, and provides durable therapeutic effects; its short-term outcomes are satisfactory, making it worthy of wider adoption.

　　As a master’s‑level rehabilitation physician, Jing Peng is a doctor deeply committed to humanistic care. He says that scientific research must return to clinical practice, and that benefiting patients is the most fundamental value of medical research. Addressing the problems patients truly need solved—that has always been his original motivation for pursuing his research projects. (There should be applause here! He has voiced the sentiments of every member of the “Ziyi” community.)

　　Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is indicated for the treatment of patients with severe traumatic brain injury, and new evidence supports this!

　　The term “hyperbaric oxygen therapy” is well known to most. It has a positive impact on reducing mortality in patients with severe traumatic brain injury, and for survivors, hyperbaric oxygen treatment may even facilitate partial recovery of neurological function. To investigate the clinical significance of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the management of severe traumatic brain injury and its effects on patient outcomes, Director Duan Lei, MD, PhD, conducted a detailed analysis of flash visual evoked potentials before and after hyperbaric oxygen treatment in our hospital’s patients with traumatic brain injury, thereby evaluating the efficacy of this therapeutic approach.

　　Based on a large number of clinical cases within the hospital, Director Duan, through observational analysis, longitudinal data comparison, and theoretical research, found that hyperbaric oxygen therapy for severe traumatic brain injury can shorten the P2 latency of flash‑evoked visual potentials and increase their elicitation rate, thereby providing a solid theoretical basis for the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the treatment of patients with severe traumatic brain injury.

　　Dr. Duan’s paper was published last November in the journal NeuroRehabilitation, which is indexed in the SCI. (The SCI is currently recognized worldwide as the most authoritative tool for retrieving scientific and technical literature.)

　　Many other research projects also reached satisfactory conclusions this spring; due to space constraints, we will not detail each one here. Those interested may follow the official WeChat account of Nanjing Zijin Hospital, where we will share more in the days ahead.

　　At the meeting, Executive Vice President Gao Zhiqiang quoted Steve Jobs: “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” He urged everyone to remain eager for knowledge and humble in spirit, emphasizing that on the path of scientific research, it is essential to uphold integrity, adhere to ethical principles, and persevere with unwavering dedication.

　　At the conclusion of the meeting, President Ge Jiangping delivered a summarizing address, emphasizing that the hospital’s development is inseparable from scientific research—indeed, this is one of the key reasons why Nanjing Zijin Hospital has been accredited as a Grade III hospital. President Ge also consistently regards talent as the hospital’s most valuable asset; Dr. Duan Lei and Master’s-level rehabilitation physician Jing Peng are among the new recruits the hospital has brought on board in recent years. Looking ahead, Nanjing Zijin Hospital will take its elevation to Grade III status as a launching pad, intensifying efforts to attract high-caliber professionals, expanding its research investment, and, through the concerted efforts of all, further enhancing the hospital’s renowned reputation.