Unit for approval: Shanghai Bureau of Public Health
Date of approval: 1988
Honorary director: Shi Jixiang
Consultant: Yang Zhijun
Director: Liao Jixiang
Deputy director: Lu Shuliang
Previous director: Shi Jixiang

In 1958 Discipline of Burn successfully rescued the steel worker Qiu Caikang, the first case of extensive burns, upon which the world fixed its eyes. It established a China Burn therapeutic model with distinctive features of Ruijin burn fluid infusion formula, mixed grafting method and hibernation etc.. For the recent 50 years it has admitted for treatment nearly 20,000 cases of burn with an average curative rate exceeding 95%.
　

Prof. Shi Jixiang is our country’s famous expert of burn, one of the important pioneers and founders of our country’s discipline of burn, has won multiple international and domestic prizes such as a Evens Prize, a Vitc International Burn Prize of Italy, a He Liang He Li Fund Prize of Progress in Science and Technology and a 2nd State Prize of Progress in Science and Technology.
　

Established in 1988 Shanghai Burn Institute has undertaken the scientific research work of the first major project of State Natural Science Fund in life science after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In research apart from the discovery of the special healing law for self-healing shallow 2-degree burn and local biologic law after 2-degree burn, it emphatically expounded the successful mechanism of the mixed grafting method independently created by our country. The research result of this project “Research of Healing Mechanism of Surface of Wound of Burn” won for the researchers a 2nd Prize of Progress in Science and Technology of Ministry of Public Health for 1999, a 2nd Prize of Progress is Science and Technology of Shanghai Municipality for 1999 and a 2nd Prize of Progress in Science and Technology of State for 2000. Subsequently financed by multiple major projects at the State level, it formed its superiority of systematization and proportions of research of healing of surface of wound, succeeded in applying for 2 items of “973” Project and 2 items of State Natural Science Fund and several items at Provincial and Ministerial levels and cooperative items. On this basis the Discipline of science of burn of Ruijin Hospital has made considerable progress. According to the research result it put forward “Theory of Missing Mould Plate” in respect of mechanism of formation of new scars and passed identification of the research result. It has obtained the acceptance of patent application for “Matrix of Active Acellular Dermis”, providing a new train of thought and direction for the establishment of a new type of burn therapeutic means in future. In addition it has formulated the standard plate for comparing colors. This research fruit has obtained a patent.
　

With the change of life style and environmental factors this year the map for diseases has also changed correspondingly. At the moment the tendency towards incidence of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and tumor has gone up significantly. Take diabetes for example. According to WHO estimation, there are now 177 million diabetics and will have been 300 million by 2025 according to estimation (among whom 75% will be in such developing countries as China and India). Consequently what those who are engaged in the present clinical therapeutic work are confronted with are not only burn cases of normal persons but also such complex cases as of diabetes and burn of the patients who previously had systemic diseases. Therefore diseases of this kind bring new problems and challenges to clinical treatment. Financed by projects of the “Tenth Five-Year Plan”, “211 Engineering” and “973” we have made relatively overall and systematic study of mechanism of difficulty in forming surface of wound caused by burn complicated with diabetes. We have discovered through research that not only is the systemic blood sugar of diabetic body high but simultaneously the sugar content of local skin is 7 times higher than that of normal skin. The high sugar micro-environment of part of skin causes glycosylation to a lot of protein outside and inside part of cells of normal skin, forming such new stimulating sources as end products of glycosylation and causing pathophysiologic change of part of skin. Take skin of diabetic body for example. Even if uninjured, part of skin also has infiltration of inflammatory cells. A few signal transmission pathways previously related to inflammation are also activated in such tissue cells as epidermic horny-forming cells, thereby causing a series of pathophysiologic effect of a cascade type of part of skin of diabetic body, forming one of the important mechanisms of difficulty in healing of surface of wound after burn. We put forward the new conception of “inapparent injury” of diabetic skin tissue. These discoveries through research will undoubtedly provide a new theoretical basis for continuously perfecting burn therapeutic means or/and methods. Besides we have combined with the development of scientific research fruits of high new technologic products and explored, studied prevention and treatment of surface of wound difficult to heal and found that arginine can improve the “inapparent injury” of diabetic skin tissue and obtained a patient for our invention. In addition we also have found that aminoguanidine plays a considerable role in prevention and treatment of surface of wound difficult to heal, hence applying for a patent (accepted).
　

On the basis of the previous classic therapies the bun clinical therapy of Ruijin Hospital has developed effective therapeutic means and methods in respect of compound severe injuries and difficult and complex cases through cooperation of multiple disciplines. As a result it won a Prize of Fruit of Chinese Medicine for 2004 and a 2nd Prize of “Clinical Medical Fruits of 6th Session” for 2005 (Treatment of defect of whole layer of thoracic wall and complete exposure of heart).
Early application of such therapeutic means as cutting off scars in burn clinical practice further shortens the time for healing surface of wound and the occurrence of complications, number of days for hospitalization, raises the revolving rate of sickbeds and rate of utilization, lowers medical expenses and improves the burn therapeutic rate of medium and small areas. This research fruit won a 2nd Prize of Progress in Science and Technology of Shanghai Municipality for 2004 and a 2nd Prize of Medical Fruits of Shanghai Municipality.
　

Future research directions:
1. Deepened research of mechanism of healing of surface of wound and mechanism of successful mixed grafting
2. Research of formation of disorder of endogenous defensive mechanism after severe burn and exploration of measures of prevention and treatment
Main large-scale instruments and apparatuses (over 100,000 yuan): cell workstation, inverted microscope, freeze drying machine, high-speed low-temperature centrifuge, determination instrument for evaporation of surface of wound, gel analyzer and quantitative PCR apparatus etc. with total value of over 3.5 million yuan.