ArticlePlastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open2019
Silver in Wound Care-Friend or Foe?: A Comprehensive Review.
Article in Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 84 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
84 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 175 citations in OpenAlex.
- A critical overview of challenging roles of medicinal plants in improvement of wound healing technology.Daru : journal of Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences · 2024Pooled it
- A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a Fabric-Based Wireless Electroceutical Dressing Compared to Standard-of-Care Treatment Against Acute Trauma and Burn Wound Biofilm Infection.Advances in wound care · 2024Trial
- Prospective randomised placebo-controlled trial assessing the efficacy of silver dressings to enhance healing of acute diabetes-related foot ulcers.Diabetologia · 2023Trial
- Burn Wound Healing Effect of a Sterilized Traditional Formulation ofIranian journal of medical sciences · 2023Trial
- Article
- MRI susceptibility-related artifacts following prolonged use of silver-containing dressings: A case report.Medicine · 2026Article
- Quercetin accelerates full-thickness burn wound repair by modulation of oxidative stress and inflammation.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Research on Silver-Based Wound Dressing: An Ontological Analysis.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Optimal Wound pH and Related Factors in the Healing Process of Diabetes-Related Foot Ulcer: A Prospective Observational Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Anti-bacterial properties of hyperbranched poly (epsilon-lysine) peptides dendrons for wound dressing applications: molecular specie-specific effects.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- Vitamin-supplemented medical-grade honey for burn wound management in cats and dogs: a retrospective case series.Open veterinary journal · 2026Article
- Manuka honey as a natural remedy for diabetic foot ulcers: efficacy compared with silver-based dressing.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- The Role of Silver and Silver-Based Products in Wound Management: A Review of Advances and Current Landscape.Journal of functional biomaterials · 2026Review
- Presence of Metallosis Can Interfere With Culture Positivity in Prosthetic Joint Infection of the Hip.Arthroplasty today · 2025Article
- Six Evidence-based Recommendations for Perioperative Incisional Care in Plastic Surgery: A Narrative Review.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2025Article
- What's New in Wound Healing: Treatment Advances and Microbial Insights.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2025Review
- Biological Macromolecule-Based Dressings for Combat Wounds: From Collagen to Growth Factors-A Review.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The Impact of the Skin Microbiome and Oxidative Stress on the Initiation and Development of Cutaneous Chronic Wounds.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- A review of advancements in antiseptics for wound care in diabetic and non-diabetic patients.Journal of diabetes and metabolic disorders · 2025Review
- Uncovering the Advantages of Foam Dressings with Active Ingredients.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
24 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Due to its strong antimicrobial activity, silver is a commonly used adjunct in wound care. However, it also has the potential to impair healing by exerting toxic effects on keratinocytes and fibroblasts. The published literature on the use of silver in wound care is very heterogeneous, making it difficult to generate useful treatment guidelines.
methodsA search of high-quality studies on the use of silver in wound care was performed on PubMed. A detailed qualitative analysis of published articles was performed to evaluate the evidence for the use of silver in infected wounds, clean wounds, burns, and over closed surgical incisions.
resultsFifty-nine studies were included in this qualitative analysis. We found that, overall, the quality of the published research on silver is poor. While there is some evidence for short-term use of dressings containing nanocrystalline silver in infected wounds, the use of silver-containing dressings in clean wounds and over closed surgical incisions is not indicated. Negative-pressure wound therapy accelerates the healing of contaminated wounds, especially when silver is used as an adjunct. For burns, silver sulfadiazine slows healing and should not be used. Instead, nanocrystalline silver, or alternatives such as octenidine and polyhexanide, lead to less infection and faster healing.
conclusionsIn infected wounds, silver is beneficial for the first few days/weeks, after which nonsilver dressings should be used instead. For clean wounds and closed surgical incisions, silver confers no benefit. The ideal silver formulations are nanocrystalline silver and silver-coated polyurethane sponge for negative-pressure wound therapy. Silver sulfadiazine impairs wound healing. Proper use of silver-containing dressings is essential to optimize wound healing.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.