Table 1.
Summary of the Articles Included in This Study
| Article | Type of Study | Level of Evidence | No. Subjects (for Human Studies) | Purpose | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infected wounds Abarca-Buis, 2014 | Basic science | - | - | Evaluate silver ion elution from silver-coated polyurethane NPWT sponge | Silver ion concentration in wound exudate rises over several days |
| Ellenrieder, 2015 | Basic science | - | - | Evaluate effectiveness of polyurethane versus silver-coated polyurethane NPWT sponges at reducing MRSA colony counts | NPWT with silver-coated polyurethane sponge decreases MRSA colony counts more than NPWT with polyurethane sponge |
| Ngo, 2012 | Basic science | - | - | Compare biofilm formation with polyurethane NPWT sponge versus silver-coated polyurethane NPWT sponge | NPWT with polyurethane sponge reduces biofilm NPWT with silver-coated polyurethane sponge reduces biofilm even more |
| Sachsenmaier, 2013 | Basic science | - | - | Compare activity of polyurethane NPWT sponge versus silver-coated polyurethane NPWT sponge against S. aureus and S. epidermidis | Silver-coated polyurethane NPWT sponge achieves a larger zone of bacterial inhibition than plain polyurethane sponge With silver-coated polyurethane NPWT sponge, wound silver level reaches a peak at 5 days |
| Stinner, 2011 | Basic science | - | - | Compare activity of polyurethane NPWT sponge versus silver dressing and polyurethane NPWT sponge against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa | The addition of a silver dressing to polyurethane sponge enhances the antimicrobial activity of NPWT |
| Meekul, 2017 | RCT | 1 | 39 | Compare healing, pain, and cost with silver alginate versus gauze | Silver alginate reduces pain compared to gauze, but does not accelerate healing or decrease cost |
| Vermeulen, 2007 | Systematic review | 1 | 847 | Compare healing and odor with silver-containing dressing versus plain foam | Silver-containing dressing does not accelerate healing, but improves wound odor |
| Gunal, 2015 | Retrospective | 3 | 21 | Compare polyurethane to silver-coated polyurethane sponges for NPWT for infected diabetic foot ulcers | NPWT with polyurethane sponge accelerates the healing of diabetic foot ulcers NPWT with silver-coated polyurethane sponge accelerates healing even more. |
| Qian, 2017 | Basic science | - | - | Compare healing with SSD versus plain cream for chronic wounds | SSD slows epithelialization and increases hypertrophic scar formation |
| Applewhite, 2018 | Review | - | - | Evaluate healing with NPWT and promogran prisma in chronic wounds | Promogran prisma accelerates healing due to its collagen component acting as a sacrificial substrate for proteases in the wound. NPWT promotes granulation tissue formation |
| Innes, 2001 | RCT | 1 | 17 | Compare epithelialization with Acticoat versus occlusive, silver-free dressing for skin graft donor sites | Occlusive, silver-free dressing leads to faster epithelialization and better scar than Acticoat |
| Krasowski, 2015 | RCT | 1 | 80 | Compare epithelialization with silver-containing dressing versus octenidine for lower-extremity ulcers | Octenidine leads to faster healing and less pain than silver-containing dressing |
| Michaels, 2009 | RCT | 1 | 213 | Compare healing with nanocrystalline silver versus non-silver-containing dressings for lower-extremity venous ulcers | Nanocrystalline silver does not accelerate healing of lower-extremity venous ulcers |
| Norman, 2016 | Systematic review | 1 | 576 | Compare healing with silver-containing dressings versus gauze for pressure ulcers | Silver-containing dressings do not accelerate pressure ulcer healing |
| O’Meara, 2014 | Systematic review | 1 | 4,486 | Compare healing with silver-containing dressings versus standard dressings for lower-extremity venous ulcers | Silver-containing dressings do not accelerate lower-extremity ulcer healing |
| Storm-Versloot, 2010 | Systematic review | 1 | 2,066 | Compare infection rates with silver-containing dressings versus non-silver-containing dressings for chronic wounds | Silver-containing dressings do not reduce infection rates |
| Bergin, 2006 | Systematic review | 1 | 0 | Evaluate effectiveness of silver-containing dressings for diabetic foot ulcers | There are no good RCTs evaluating silver for diabetic foot ulcers |
| Chambers, 2007 | Systematic review | 1 | 1,108 | Evaluate effectiveness of silver-containing dressings for lower-extremity ulcers | Silver-containing dressings do not accelerate lower-extremity ulcer healing Quality of evidence for silver is poor |
| Dumville, 2015 | Systematic Review | 1 | 336 | Evaluate effectiveness of silver alginate for pressure ulcers | Silver alginate does not accelerate pressure ulcer healing Quality of evidence for silver is poor |
| Karr, 2013 | Case series | 4 | 20 | Compare healing with polyurethane NPWT sponge versus Silverlong + polyurethane NPWT sponge for chronic wounds | Adding Silverlon to NPWT reduces healing time and cost |
| Toussaint, 2015 | Basic science | - | - | Compare epithelialization with Mepilex Ag versus triple antibiotic ointment | Triple antibiotic ointment achieves faster epithelialization and less scarring than Mepilex Ag |
| Selcuk, 2012 | Basic science | - | - | Compare activity of SSD, mupirocin, Acticoat, and octenidine against Acinetobacter baumannii | Highest antimicrobial activity is achieved by Acticoat, followed by octenidine, then mupirocin, then SSD |
| Khorasani, 2009 | RCT | 1 | 30 | Compare epithelialization with SSD versus aloe vera | SSD leads to slower epithelialization |
| Shahzad, 2013 | RCT | 1 | 50 | Compare epithelialization and pain with SSD versus aloe vera | SSD leads to more pain and slower epithelialization |
| Baghel, 2009 | RCT | 1 | 78 | Compare epithelialization and infection with SSD versus honey | SSD leads to more infections and slower epithelialization |
| Shah, 2013 | RCT | 1 | 78 | Compare epithelialization and infection with SSD versus honey | SSD leads to more infections and slower epithelialization |
| Sami, 2011 | RCT | 1 | 50 | Compare epithelialization and infection with SSD versus honey | SSD leads to more infections and slower epithelialization |
| Mujalde, 2014 | RCT | 1 | 110 | Compare epithelialization, cost and infection with SSD versus honey | SSD leads to more infections, higher cost, and slower epithelialization |
| Mashhood, 2006 | RCT | 1 | 50 | Compare epithelialization, pain and infection with SSD versus honey | SSD leads to more infections, more pain, and slower epithelialization |
| Varas, 2005 | RCT | 1 | 47 | Compare pain with SSD versus Acticoat | SSD leads to more pain |
| Muangman, 2006 | RCT | 1 | 50 | Compare pain with SSD versus Acticoat | SSD leads to more pain |
| Huang, 2007 | RCT | 1 | 98 | Compare epithelialization with SSD versus Acticoat | SSD leads to slower epithelialization |
| Caruso, 2006 | RCT | 1 | 84 | Compare epithelialization and cost with SSD versus Aquacel Ag | SSD leads to slower epithelialization and higher cost |
| Muangman, 2010 | RCT | 1 | 70 | Compare epithelialization and cost with SSD versus Aquacel Ag | SSD leads to slower epithelialization and higher cost |
| Barret, 2000 | RCT | 1 | 20 | Compare epithelialization, hospital length of stay and cost with SSD versus Biobrane | SSD leads to slower epithelialization, longer hospital stay, and higher cost |
| Gerding, 1988 | RCT | 1 | 30 | Compare epithelialization, number of dressing changes and cost with SSD versus Biobrane | SSD leads to slower epithelialization, more dressing changes, and higher cost |
| Bugmann, 1998 | RCT | 1 | 76 | Compare epithelialization and number of dressing changes SSD versus Mepitel | SSD leads to slower epithelialization and more dressing changes |
| Subrahmanyam, 1998 | RCT | 1 | 50 | Compare epithelialization with honey versus SSD | Honey achieves faster epithelialization than SSD |
| Shahzad, 2013 | RCT | 1 | 50 | Compare epithelialization and pain with aloe vera versus SSD | Aloe vera achieves faster epithelialization and less pain than SSD |
| Silverstein, 2011 | RCT | 1 | 101 | Compare epithelizaliation, pain and cost with Mepilex Ag versus SSD | Mepilex Ag achieves faster epithelialization, less pain, and less cost than SSD |
| Yarboro, 2013 | RCT | 1 | 24 | Compare epithelialization with Aquacel Ag versus SSD | Aquacel Ag achieves less pain and requires fewer dressing changes |
| Adhya, 2015 | RCT | 1 | 54 | Compare epithelialization with nanocrystalline silver-containing hydrogel versus SSD | Burn epithelialization is faster with nanocrystalline silver-containing hydrogel than with SSD |
| Gee Kee, 2015 | RCT | 1 | 96 | Compare epithelialization with Mepilex Ag versus Acticoat | Acticoat has slower healing and more pain compared to Mepilex Ag |
| Genuino, 2014 | RCT | 1 | 50 | Compare epithelialization with SSD versus petrolatum | Petrolatum leads to faster epithelialization than SSD |
| Godhi, 2017 | RCT | 1 | 60 | Compare epithelialization with SSD versus sucralfate | Sucralfate leads to faster epithelialization than SSD |
| Brown, 2016 | RCT | 1 | 89 | Compare epithelialization with Aquacel Ag versus Acticoat | No difference in epithelialization or infection between Aquacel Ag and Acticoat |
| Vloemans, 2014 | Systematic review | 1 | 266 | Compare epithelialization, pain and length of hospital stay with SSD versus Biobrane | Biobrane achieves faster epithelialization, shorter length of stay, and less pain than SSD |
| Wasiak, 2013 | Systematic review | 1 | 1,307 | Compare epithelialization and infection with various burn dressings | SSD has the worst epithelialization and infection outcomes in burns |
| Heyneman, 2016 | Systematic review | 1 | - | Compare epithelialization with SSD versus nanocrystalline silver | Nanocrystalline silver dressings lead to faster epithelialization than SSD |
| Gravante, 2009 | Systematic review | 1 | 285 | Compare infection and pain with SSD versus nanocrystalline silver | Nanocrystalline silver leads to less infection and pain than SSD |
| Aziz, 2017 | Systematic review | 1 | 717 | Compare epithelialization and infection with honey versus SSD | Honey results in faster epithelialization and less infection than SSD |
| Vieira, 2018 | Review | - | - | Evaluate the effectiveness of incisional NPWT in high-risk incisions | Incisional NPWT improves wound outcomes |
| Abboud, 2016 | RCT | 1 | 110 | Compare pain with Silverlon versus Gauze | Silverlon reduces pain |
| Biffi, 2014 | RCT | 1 | 112 | Compare infection with Aquacel Ag versus Gauze | Aquacel Ag does not decrease infection compared to gauze |
| Newman, 2019 | RCT | 1 | 160 | Compare wound complications with incisional NPWT versus silver dressing | Incisional NPWT decreases wound complications compared to silver dressings |
| Ozaki, 2015 | RCT | 1 | 500 | Compare infection with Acticoat versus Gauze | Acticoat does not reduce infection rates |
| Ruiz-Tovar, 2015 | RCT | 1 | 147 | Compare infection with silver-containing dressing versus mupirocin versus gauze | Silver-containing dressings have more infections than mupirocin ointment |
| Dumville, 2016 | Systematic Review | 1 | 5,718 | Compare infection with silver-containing dressings versus standard dressings | Silver-containing dressings do not reduce infection rates |
| Li, 2017 | Systematic review | 1 | 2,196 | Compare infection with silver-containing dressings versus standard dressings | Silver-containing dressings do not reduce infection rates |
Abbreviations: MRSA, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; NPWT, Negative-pressure wound therapy; RCT, Randomized control trial; SSD, Silver sulfadiazine