William Aaron Silverman (1917–2004) was a Pioneer of Evidence‐Based Medicine and Advocate for Families and Children Born Preterm
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Advances in evidence-based medicine have shaped neonatal care over the years by moving from approaches based on experience to rigorous methodologies that evaluated the effectiveness of treatment.Evidence-based medicine helps to improve the treatment of individual patients by integrating clinical experience and patient values with the best available research information [1].Dramatic improvements occurred in the care of preterm and term infants in the 1940s and 1950s, which increased infant survival rates.These were associated with clinical trials that prospectively compared proposed treatments against existing standards of care.The trials included the effects of drugs, like antenatal steroids, as well as supplemental oxygen, medical devices, and diagnostic procedures.One of the leading neonatologists during this period was William Aaron Silverman .He shaped the ethical performance of research in neonatal and fetal medicine, supported the promotion and embedding of evidence-based practice, and often discussed the intricacies of randomised trials.He championed the rights of parents and patients, and upheld standards related to parents' participation in decision making.Silverman was instrumental in shaping neonatology as a specialty that incorporated clinical, psychological, and social dimensions in treating illnesses.This essay highlights some of his major contributions and the impact they had on the emergence of modern paediatrics.
Source: Acta Paediatrica
DOI: 10.1111/apa.70039
Authors: Stefan Kutzsche, Sivalingam Nalliah
Institution: IMU University
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4407782674