Nanjing Soars: Academic Exchanges Drive Shared Development

From October 24 to 26, 2024, the 110th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Medical Association and the 33rd National Conference on Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine were grandly held in Nanjing, China.

This conference was co‑hosted by the Chinese Medical Association and the Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, with Jiangsu Provincial Medical Association, the Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine Branch of the Jiangsu Provincial Medical Association, and Nanjing Zijin Hospital serving as co‑organizers. The event commenced under the chairmanship of Zhou Hongtu, Executive Committee Member and Secretary-General of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, as well as Director of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Department at the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University. Long Ying, Chairperson of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, delivered an enthusiastic opening address.

Executive Committee Member and Secretary-General of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association , Zhou Hongtu, Director of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Department at the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University

Long Ying, Chairperson of the Committee on Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine of the Chinese Medical Association

Ge Jiangping, President of Nanjing Zijin Hospital; Zhou Nan, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Nanjing Municipal Health Commission; and Han Yi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Jiangsu Provincial Medical Association, also took to the podium in turn to deliver remarks, extending their warmest welcome and sincerest gratitude to the distinguished experts, scholars, and senior colleagues who had traveled from afar.

Ge Jiangping, President of Nanjing Zijin Hospital

Zhou Nan, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Nanjing Municipal Health Commission

Subsequently, amid the collective witness of numerous attendees, the launch ceremony for the multi-center study on the reliability and validity of the China Nanjing Consciousness Recovery Scale (CNCRS) was held successfully. In an atmosphere of solemnity and anticipation, pale blue gold powder gently cascaded across the backdrop, heralding a new chapter for the China Nanjing Consciousness Recovery Scale and marking its ascent to a fresh starting point and greater heights.

This conference has thoughtfully organized four specialized sessions—on cerebral resuscitation, quality control, the Young Committee, and regional exchanges—alongside numerous thematic lectures and plenary presentations. The aim is to establish a high‑level platform for academic exchange, fostering the dissemination of new ideas, technologies, and methodologies in the medical field, and jointly advancing the development of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Experts and scholars from across the country delivered compelling talks, sharing their latest research findings and clinical insights in their respective domains.

Focusing on the Brain Resuscitation Session, Exploring New Frontiers in Consciousness

On the afternoon of October 25, a dedicated symposium on cerebral resuscitation, hosted by Nanjing Zijin Hospital, was successfully held. Experts and scholars from Jiangsu, Hebei, Jilin, Guangxi, Shenzhen, Sichuan, Liaoning, and Guangdong gathered to engage in a vibrant and substantive academic exchange centered on cerebral resuscitation, discussing disorders of consciousness, their treatment approaches, clinical outcomes, and related research.

At the conference, Director Zhao Lin of Jiangsu Provincial People’s Hospital presented a detailed analysis of the therapeutic efficacy of combining spinal cord electrical stimulation with hyperbaric oxygen therapy in patients with disorders of consciousness. She underscored the pivotal role of multidisciplinary collaboration in comprehensive treatment strategies and highlighted the critical importance of early neurorehabilitation intervention for cerebral resuscitation. Furthermore, her insights into the full‑course intervention protocol and her sharing of relevant clinical cases proved highly enlightening to the attendees.

Subsequently, Wang Changbao, Regional Director of the Qinhuai Branch of Nanjing Zijin Hospital, conducted an in-depth analysis of the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the field of critical care rehabilitation by reviewing numerous domestic and international experimental and clinical studies. He highlighted the positive effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on the recovery of brain function in patients with severe traumatic brain injury, such as alleviating cerebral vasospasm and reducing inflammation, while emphasizing the importance of accounting for individual patient variability. In conclusion, Director Wang called for more research to further elucidate the mechanisms underlying hyperbaric oxygen therapy at both the theoretical and practical levels, thereby advancing progress in this area.

Director Li Hongling of the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University focused on pediatric patients with disorders of consciousness, noting that this special subgroup faces therapeutic challenges such as vague symptom reports, poor compliance, and the inapplicability of standard assessment scales. She shared insights into the underlying pathophysiology, treatment protocols, strategy selection, and child‑adapted versions of assessment tools, while also analyzing the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in this patient population and the factors influencing its outcomes.

Director Gao Hongliang, head of the Rehabilitation Therapy Center at Nanjing Zijin Hospital, demonstrated the synergistic interplay between hyperbaric oxygen therapy and physical therapy, highlighted the unique advantages of the “Awakening‑the‑Brain, Opening‑the‑Orifices” acupuncture technique in cerebral resuscitation, and discussed the standardized quantification of this method across key parameters such as manual techniques, needle angles, tonifying versus reducing manipulations, and patient responses. He reported on a controlled study comparing in‑cabin versus out‑of‑cabin acupuncture, which achieved a deep integration of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and acupuncture. Furthermore, by incorporating near‑infrared imaging and relying on objective measures like SEP and EEG, he substantiated the clinical efficacy of this acupuncture approach and underscored its distinctive appeal within the broader landscape of conventional rehabilitation therapies.

Dr. Wen Pei from Liuzhou Workers’ Hospital presented a detailed report on the topic “Long-term neuropsychiatric outcomes of carbon monoxide poisoning in children and potential risk factors,” covering the research background, methodology, statistical analysis, findings, and conclusions.

Drawing on his own clinical experience, Dr. Jing Peng of Nanjing Zijin Hospital offered a sincere and detailed account of his understanding of the wake‑promoting effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Beginning with a series of questions and integrating multiple Chinese expert consensus statements as well as domestic and international literature, he presented a comprehensive report on a retrospective cohort study examining “the impact of prolonged hyperbaric oxygen therapy on the recovery of consciousness and prognosis in patients with chronic disorders of consciousness,” while also articulating critical reflections that sparked thoughtful discussion among the scholars and experts in attendance.

Wang Hong, head of the Emergency Department and Director of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Department at the Lequn Campus of the First Hospital of Jilin University, and a seasoned nursing expert, focused on the application of a three-dimensional, full-process quality management system in hyperbaric oxygen therapy for critically ill patients, examining it from the perspectives of structure, process, and outcomes. He underscored the system’s critical role in enhancing nursing quality and achieving standardized management, and shared insights into an information‑based management platform that proved highly beneficial to the clinical professionals in attendance.

This special session on cerebral resuscitation also included a case‑sharing and discussion segment, which proceeded smoothly under the skillful moderation of Zhao Peng. A number of medical experts engaged in in-depth discussions, examining the cases from multiple perspectives.

A case presented by Dr. Lu Yu of Shenzhen People’s Hospital—the hyperbaric oxygen therapy administered to a patient with severe carbon monoxide poisoning—has drawn widespread attention. In response, Director Hu Huijun from the Sixth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital highlighted the regional differences in CO poisoning between northern and southern China, noting that, particularly in scenarios involving brief, high‑concentration CO exposure, the initial diagnosis in this case may have other underlying possibilities. He also discussed the implications of this case for understanding the relationship between carboxyhemoglobin levels and patient outcomes.

Professor Li Zhuo of Shenzhen People’s Hospital, starting from the mechanisms underlying hyperbaric oxygen therapy for CO poisoning and the pathophysiology of carbon monoxide toxicity, underscored the critical importance of initiating hyperbaric oxygen treatment as early as possible and of meticulously developing comprehensive emergency response plans. She specifically noted that, in patient transfer and handover procedures, aspects of care and attention are often overlooked, thereby highlighting the paramount significance of meticulous attention to detail in clinical practice.

In addition, Director Zeng Xianrong of the Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital highly commended the sense of responsibility and commitment demonstrated by the medical staff in this case. She emphasized that, for critically ill patients at high risk or with contraindications, healthcare professionals must not only engage in thorough communication with family members and carefully weigh the benefits and risks of treatment, but also, after rigorously assessing the feasibility and safety of the proposed therapeutic plan, courageously assume the associated risks and spare no effort to save the patient’s life.

Director Pan Xingming of Nanjing Zijin Hospital presented a case illustrating the application and advances of combining spinal cord electrical stimulation with hyperbaric oxygen therapy for disorders of consciousness. Director Hu Huijun further emphasized that, given the high rate of recovery achieved with neuromodulation therapies in patients with disorders of consciousness, physicians must engage in thorough, in-depth discussions with the families of eligible patients to ensure they fully understand the treatment’s objectives, procedures, potential risks, and anticipated outcomes. In addition, Director Hu Huijun specifically noted that the underlying causes of disorders of consciousness are among the key factors influencing prognosis.

With the insightful presentations and in-depth discussions of all the experts, the 110th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Medical Association and the 33rd National Conference on Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine have concluded successfully.

As one of the organizers of this conference, Nanjing Zijin Hospital looks forward to continuing to collaborate with experts and scholars in the field of hyperbaric oxygen medicine, relentlessly pursuing exploration and innovation, and jointly fostering the vigorous development of this discipline, thereby contributing our wisdom and efforts to the recovery and hope of more patients with disorders of consciousness.