Silver for health again in the news

While the quackwatcher's continue on their frivolous campaign to discount effective remedies and treatments science seems to show they are out in left field more often than not.

I've been in support of using silver remedies for decades, since the early years of my career in nursing. In the 1970s I was in charge of a burn center at a major hospital in Philadelphia. We used silver based therapy daily.

In the 90s information on my web site was attacked because of identifying silver as a therapy for SARS and other immune dis-orders.

I guess I am not so far off.

Silver-coated Endotracheal Tube Dramatically Reduces Resistant Infections

ScienceDaily (May 21, 2008) — A silver-coated endotracheal tube may reduce infections with highly resistant bacteria over traditional tubes by nearly half, according to the results of a large randomized trial to be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on May 19.

Patients who are on ventilators are often at risk for developing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) because of resistant bacteria.

"VAP is a serious disease with significant mortality," said lead investigator, Andrew Shorr, M.D., M.P.H., of Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. "Crude mortality rates from VAP approach 25 to 30 percent and VAP rates are now thought to reflect hospital quality. These infections include highly resistant pathogens, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, which are the most troubling ones and often the hardest to treat. The average costs associated with treatment of VAP exceed $40,000 because of the impact on length of stay in the ICU."

To test the efficacy of the silver-coated tube in preventing infections, the study included a modified intention-to-treat population of 1,509 subjects, balanced between traditional endotracheal tubes and the silver coated ones. The researchers used brochoavelolar lavage fluid cultures to ascertain the presence of pathogenic organisms and classified as "highly resistant" organisms MRSA, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) and Acinetobacter bumanii (AB).

They found that VAP in all its forms was reduced by nearly 40 percent in the population with the silver-coated endotracheal tubes and that highly resistant infections were less than half as likely to occur in those with the silver-coated tubes.

"What we show in this present analysis is that the silver-coated breathing tube prevents infections due to the most highly resistant pathogens. Other prevention strategies for VAP have not always been shown to impact the rates of infection with these highly resistant strains," said Dr. Shorr. "Given the importance of MRSA, PA and AB in the ICU, utilization of the silver-coated endotracheal tube may help contain the spread of antimicrobial resistance."
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American Thoracic Society (2008, May 21). Silver-coated Endotracheal Tube Dramatically Reduces Resistant Infections. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 21, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/05/080519133449.htm