The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of the rhGM-CSF gel on third-degree
frostbite wounds. Sixty-two patients who had suffered third-degree
frostbite on their hand or foot (91
wounds in total) were selected using a convenience sampling method and randomly allocated to two groups: the rhGM-CSF group(31patients,45
frostbite wounds) received the rhGM-CSF gel when
wound dressing change daily; however, the control group (31patients, 46
frostbite wounds) received aloe glue. The wound healing time, the score of
inflammation about the
wound and the positive bacterial culture of
wound secretions were used to measure outcomes, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS (25.0), Student's t test or Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test or Fisher exact test were selected, as appropriate. The healing time of the rhGM-CSF group was (12.2 ± 5.0) days, which was significantly shorter than that of the control group (15.5 ± 4.7) days (P < .0001). The rhGM-CSF group's
wound inflammation scores on the 7th and 14th day of treatment were (0.96 ± 0.21) and (1.88 ± 0.29), respectively, which were better than those of the control group (1.12 ± 0.24) and (1.38 ± 0.15) (both P < .0001). The positive bacterial culture of
wound secretions in the rhGM-CSF group was also better than that in the control group on the 3rd, 7th, and 14th day
after treatment (P = .027, .004, .030, respectively). According to the results, using rhGM-CSF gel considerably increases the speed of
frostbite wounds healing, and have an effect on protecting third-degree
frostbite wounds regarding the positive effects. Trial Registration: This trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Register, ChiCTR1900021299.