Medical Adhesive-Related Skin Injury Prevalence Among Adult Acute Care Patients

Abstract

Medical adhesive-related skin injury is a prevalent event in the acute care setting. Preventing skin injury has the potential to reduce complications, increase patient satisfaction, and improve clinical outcomes.

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“…MARSI is any type of problem in which erythema and/or other manifestation of cutaneous abnormality such as a vesicle, bulla, erosion or tear persists for 30 minutes or more after adhesive removal. MARSI is thought to develop in several forms; skin (epidermal) stripping, tension injury or blister, skin tear, irritant contact dermatitis, allergic dermatitis, maceration and folliculitis [2]. In our case there were abrasions on the eyelids which seemed close to skin tear defined by McNichol, et al However we also observed oozing hemorrhage on the lesions which made us think that the lesion could be categorized as abrasions [1].…”

Management of Central Venous Access Device-Associated Skin Impairment

“…Currently the burden of CASI on the healthcare environment is estimated by small single population studies,10,40 or as a secondary endpoint of interventional studies 30,41. Research is urgently needed to define the prevalence of CASI within the wider healthcare environment.…”

“…Four fictitious, but realistic case studies of patients with impaired skin at CVAD sites were developed by the authors using criteria evident in previous research that place patients at high risk for CASI 2,7,10. The case studies involved the description of CVAD sites with an exit site infection, skin injury, skin irritation/contact dermatitis, or noninfectious exudate; clinical information and photographs were provided for each fictitious case 2,4,7.…”

“…Adhesives in the CVAD dressing may sometimes be the cause of skin damage,7,10 and consideration should be given in changing the brand of dressing product. Alternatively, a nonadherent nonwoven gauze may reduce further skin damage caused by adhesives 4,5,31.…”

“…Local site infections, moisture-associated skin damage, contact dermatitis, and medical adhesive-related skin injuries (MARSIs) related to CVAD sites are frequently reported in the literature2,4,6–9; however, evidence concerning prevalence rates is sparse. Farris and colleagues10 reported findings from a single site prospective study. They found that the prevalence of all-cause MARSIs was 3.4% to 25.0% of acute care (nonintensive) patients; the highest occurrence rates were patients aged 65 to 74 years who had a mean prevalence of 20.9%.…”