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Silvadene (Silver Sulfadiazine)
Silver sulfadiazine acts on bacterial cell membrane and cell wall to produce bactericidal effect.
Silver sulfadiazine cream 1% is a topical antimicrobial indicated as an adjunct for prevention and treatment of wound sepsis in second and third degree burns. It demonstrates broad bactericidal activity against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and yeast through cell membrane and wall disruption. Contraindications include hypersensitivity and use in pregnant women at term, premature infants, and newborns under 2 months due to kernicterus risk from sulfonamide therapy. The agent offers clinical utility in burn wound management with superior efficacy compared to sulfadiazine alone.
At a glance
| Generic name | Silver Sulfadiazine |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | Pfizer |
| Drug class | sulfonamide antimicrobial |
| Target | bacterial cell membrane and cell wall |
| Modality | Small molecule |
| Therapeutic area | Infectious Disease |
| Phase | FDA-approved |
| First approval | 1973 |
Mechanism of action
Silver sulfadiazine has broad antimicrobial activity and is bactericidal for many gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria as well as being effective against yeast. Studies utilizing radioactive micronized silver sulfadiazine, electron microscopy, and biochemical techniques have revealed that the mechanism of action differs from silver nitrate and sodium sulfadiazine. Silver sulfadiazine acts only on the cell membrane and cell wall to produce its bactericidal effect. The compound is superior to sulfadiazine and will inhibit bacteria that are resistant to other antimicrobial agents. Silver sulfadiazine is not a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor and may be useful in situations where such agents are contraindicated.
Approved indications
- Burn Wound Infections
- Minor Bacterial Skin Infections
- Skin ulcer
Common side effects
- Injection site erythema
- Injection site pain
- Injection site swelling
- Headache
- Injection site pruritus
- Injection site discolouration
- Injection site pallor
- Injection site haemorrhage
- Myalgia
- Injection site warmth
- Pyrexia
- Nausea
Drug interactions
- Cimetidine
Primary sources
Every claim on this page is sourced from regulatory or scientific primary sources. See our editorial policy for full methodology.
| Source | Used for |
|---|---|
| FDA label | Mechanism, indications, dosing, boxed warnings, drug interactions |
Competitive intelligence
For the full competitive landscape — auto-detected comparators, recent regulatory actions across the set, upcoming PDUFA, patent timeline, sponsor landscape:
- Silvadene CI brief — competitive landscape report
- Silvadene updates RSS · CI watch RSS
- Pfizer portfolio CI