[Development and early experience of an integrated multidisciplinary ward model for adrenal disorders]

Adrenal diseases encompass functional disorders (including primary aldosteronism, pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma, and Cushing's syndrome) and non-functional adrenal incidentalomas, requiring endocrine functional evaluation for diagnosis and often surgical intervention for treatment. Under the traditional departmental model, patients frequently experience repeated hospitalizations, fragmented clinical information, and unclear responsibility boundaries. This study describes the institutional design and preliminary operational experience of an integrated ward dedicated to adrenal disorders at Fuzhou University Affiliated Provincial Hospital. The model is centered on a dynamic leadership mechanism that assigns primary clinical responsibility to endocrinology or urology according to the stage of care. This framework is supported by 3 complementary measures: a 48 h embedded ward-round system, tiered multidisciplinary team (MDT) admission criteria, and a written handover protocol, thereby incorporating multidisciplinary collaboration into a structured institutional workflow. During a 2-month pilot period, 36 patients were admitted. Core procedural pathways were successfully implemented, and MDT participation increased compared with the traditional departmental model. No major perioperative adverse events were observed among patients undergoing high-complexity surgical procedures, and no obvious increase in patient cost burden was observed. These preliminary observations suggest that the institutional framework may be feasible for coordinating multidisciplinary care of adrenal diseases. However, given the limited sample size and short observation period, further validation through larger prospective and multicenter studies is required.