Objective: To investigate transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) in the repair process of skin burn patients. Methods: A total of 164 burn patients treated in Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University from September 2014 to December 2016 were enrolled as objects of study, and were divided into: control group (n=82, including 37 cases of second-degree superficial burns and 45 cases of second-degree deep burns) and an observation group (n=82, including 42 cases of second-degree superficial burns and 40 cases of second-degree deep burns), using a random number table. Patients in the control group were treated with wound dressing by using single-layer Vaseline gauze, while those in the observation group were treated with external application of chitosan wound repair membrane gel. Tetanus antitoxin was intramuscularly injected into patients in both groups to prevent tetanus, and antibiotics were used to prevent bacterial infection. Wound healing, healing time, and wound healing scar index (SI) were observed and compared between the two groups at 7, 15, and 25 days after treatment, and the expression level of TGF-beta in the peripheral blood was detected via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay before treatment and at 15 and 25 days after treatment, respectively. Results: Comparison of wound healing between the control group and the observation group revealed that the healing rate of patients with second-degree superficial burns in the observation group treated with chitosan at 7 days after treatment increased compared with that of patients with second-degree superficial burns in the control group, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The healing rates of patients with second-degree deep burns in both groups at 15 and 25 days after treatment also increased significantly, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). The healing time of patients with second-degree superficial burns in the observation group was obviously shorter than that of patients with second-degree superficial burns in the control group, displaying a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05), and the SI score of patients in the observation group treated with chitosan was obviously lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). Moreover, the healing time of patients with second-degree deep burns in the observation group was also shorter than that in the control group, showing a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). The SI score of patients in the observation group treated with chitosan was also obviously lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). According to the comparison of TGF-beta expression before treatment and at 15 and 25 days after treatment between the two groups of patients, expression levels of TGF-beta in both groups were decreased gradually at 15 days with a difference between the two groups (P<0.05), but no significant difference was found in the expression level of TGF-beta at 25 days between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: External application of chitosan wound repair membrane gel significantly shortens the recovery time of patients, and it is expected that TGF-beta expression level can serve as one of the evaluation indexes for patient recovery.
