6296 Changing Medical Tape Practice for At-Risk Skin

Sonia Manriquez, RN, BSN, WOCN, Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, Wound Care Nurse, Encinitas, CA
Purpose: Repeated application/removal of tapes to patients with at-risk skin is often painful and traumatic. Incidence of adhesive tape trauma (ATT) is not well studied, but was found in one study to be over 15% in an eight-week period among elderly patients (38/1000 person-days). Morbidity is high among patients with ATT, as it is associated with considerable pain and the development of secondary wounds. Most experienced nurses see ATT morbidity on a daily basis; therefore, the purpose of this research was to advance nursing practice for reducing ATT morbidity among at-risk patients.

Objective: To evaluate a new silicone adhesive tape (SAT) in nursing protocols requiring tape use on at-risk patients.

Methods: This was an international, multi-site, post-market product evaluation of a new SAT. Tape protocols for at-risk patients were modified to replace current tape(s) with the SAT for a two-week trial period. Evaluators were then asked to compare the SAT to their normal tape and to share their experiences.

Outcomes: A total of 217 evaluations were completed across 15 hospitals in the USA, UK, and France. The majority (97.1%) of evaluators were nurses. Current tapes for at-risk patients included: paper (65.2%), soft-cloth (11.4%), or both (6.2%), the remainder used plastic, silk or a variety of other tapes. The majority (61.2%) indicated that current tapes do not meet their needs. The primary outcome was evaluator preference for the SAT or previous tape(s). Preference was 92.0% for the SAT, 7.5% for current tapes, and 0.5% no preference. Secondary outcomes included comparison of the tapes on specific performance parameters and nurse experience with the tapes through post-use interviews and case studies.

Conclusions: Clinicians are dissatisfied with current tape choices for protocols involving at-risk patients and a large majority found the new SAT to be a major advancement in skin care for these patients.