title: Silver: an age-old treatment modality in modern times.
abstract: The use of silver as an antimicrobial for infection spans hundreds of years. The ancient Greeks and Romans used silver to disinfect their water and food supplies. Silver was also used in ancient times to treat burns and wounds as a wound dressing. Silver solutions were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the 1920s. Since that time, silver has established itself as an effective and well-known treatment modality for and in the prevention of high-risk infection in clinical wound care (http://int.hansaplast.com/med-info/wound-care-beautiful-healing/silver-tech.html).
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA. marcia.spear@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spear
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001458:Bandages; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D054843:Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D012834:Silver / Q000266:history / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000451:nursing
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D012834:Silver