3M Company, St. Paul, MN.
3M Company, St. Paul, MN.
Am J Infect Control. 2021 Sep;49(9):1177-1182. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2021.03.007. Epub 2021 Mar 22.
Medical tapes are ubiquitous in healthcare and there are currently no guidelines for their storage and use. Tapes cannot be cleaned or disinfected; yet, several clinicians may use a given roll for any number of patients. Reports of tape contamination associated with clinical infection have been published.
We reviewed the literature reporting microbiological studies, case reports of infections, and nosocomial outbreaks associated with the use of medical tapes and other adhesive devices to assess the prevalence of this problem.
We conducted a literature search for cross-contamination due to medical tape use in 6 databases in June 2020 using indexing terms for surgical tape, adhesive agent, adhesives or the keyword for tape. We compiled available evidence on tape contamination as a cause for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).
Forty-two publications reported relevant microbiological studies, case reports of infections, and/or nosocomial outbreaks. Results demonstrated that tape rolls handled with questionable practices can harbor pathogens. Some studies showed the association between contaminated tape and HAIs, which in some cases even led to death.
The time has come to establish national guidelines to help reduce the risk of cross-contamination from medical tapes. We offer suggested elements for these guidelines. The COVID-19 pandemic brings greater scrutiny to eliminate any avoidable cause of infection transmission.
医用胶带在医疗保健中无处不在，目前尚无关于其储存和使用的指南。胶带不能清洗或消毒；然而，一些临床医生可能会在任何数量的患者身上使用同一个卷。已经有关于与临床感染相关的胶带污染的报告。
我们回顾了报告与使用医用胶带和其他粘性装置相关的微生物学研究、感染病例报告和医院感染暴发的文献，以评估这个问题的普遍性。
我们于 2020 年 6 月在 6 个数据库中使用手术胶带、胶粘剂、胶粘剂或胶带关键字的索引术语对由于医用胶带使用而导致的交叉污染进行了文献检索。我们汇编了关于胶带污染作为医疗保健相关感染（HAIs）原因的可用证据。
有 42 篇出版物报告了相关的微生物学研究、感染病例报告和/或医院感染暴发。结果表明，处理不当的胶带卷可能会携带病原体。一些研究表明，污染的胶带与 HAIs 之间存在关联，在某些情况下甚至导致死亡。
现在是时候制定国家指南来帮助降低医用胶带交叉污染的风险了。我们为这些指南提供了建议的要素。COVID-19 大流行促使人们更加严格地审查，以消除任何可避免的感染传播原因。
