Evaluation of a new silicone adhesive tape among clinicians caring for patients with fragile or at-risk skin.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate performance of a new silicone tape among clinicians caring for patients with fragile skin.

DESIGN

An international, multisite, 2-week-use evaluation.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS

Caregivers (n = 217) from acute care hospitals in the United States, United Kingdom, and France who regularly use tapes on patients with fragile skin.

INTERVENTIONS

The silicone tape was substituted for current-use gentle tapes for a 2-week trial period. Preuse and postuse questionnaires were collected.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The main outcome measure was tape preference. Secondary outcomes included (1) satisfaction with current-use tapes, (2) willingness to replace current-use tapes with silicone tape, (3) performance comparisons between tapes, (4) clinician-reported problems with the silicone tape, and (5) case study information.

RESULTS

The sample group consisted of nurses (98.1%), assistants (1.4%), and physicians (0.5%). Hospital units (n = 100) included oncology (31%), medical-surgical (14%), dialysis (12%), infusion/intravenous therapy (16%), critical care (10%), wound care (10%), and other units (7%). Overall preference was 92.0% for the silicone tape, 7.5% for current-use tapes, and 0.5% no preference. Dissatisfaction was 61.2% for current-use tapes, and most clinicians (90.2%) would change to the silicone tape. Evaluators favored (≥71.5%) the silicone tape on 10 performance attributes and on overall performance (91.6%). Most evaluators (75.1%) did not experience problems with the silicone tape, and those who did found problems related to adhesion (77.8%), gentleness (16.0%), and residue (6.2%).

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that the silicone tape fills a performance-expectation gap of current acrylic tapes among users of tapes on patients with fragile or at-risk skin.