Medical adhesives and patient safety: state of the science: consensus statements for the assessment, prevention, and treatment of adhesive-related skin injuries

Abstract

Skin injury related to medical adhesive usage is a prevalent but underrecognized complication that occurs across all care settings and among all age groups. If proper technique for application and/or removal of adhesive products is not used, tissue trauma can occur, impacting patient safety and quality of life and increasing healthcare costs. Little guidance exists in the literature regarding appropriate selection and proper use of adhesive products to minimize medical adhesive-related skin injury, as well as best practices for skin care preventive strategies, application and removal techniques, and assessment and treatment of such injuries. In an effort to define best practices for prevention of such injury, a consensus panel of 23 recognized key opinion leaders convened to establish consensus statements on the assessment, prevention, and treatment of medical adhesive-related skin injury. The consensus summit was held in December 2012 and was made possible by an unrestricted educational grant from 3M. This document details the consensus definitions and statements and identifies research priorities for development of new adhesive technologies and protocols for skin protection.