Prevalence, Risk Factors, Causes, Assessments, and Prevention of Medical Adhesive-Related Skin Injury: A Scoping Review

Abstract

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To evaluate research on medical adhesive-related skin injury (MARSI), focusing on its incidence, prevalence, risk factors, causes, assessments, and prevention. DATA SOURCES Searches were conducted on Wanfang Data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature Plus with Full Text. STUDY SELECTION Using search terms “medical adhesive related skin injury”, “MARSI”, “adhesive skin injury”, and “medical tape-induced skin injury”, the authors selected 43 original articles published between January 1, 2001, and May 12, 2022, in English or Chinese. DATA EXTRACTION Extracted details included the first author; publication year; study location; study type; and specifics on MARSI, such as causes, affected body areas, assessment methods, incidence, prevalence, and prevention. DATA SYNTHESIS Medical adhesive-related skin injury frequently occurred on the face and at venipuncture sites. Acrylate-containing adhesives were more likely to cause MARSI. Risk factors include extended hospital stays, lower Braden Scale scores, mechanical ventilation, edema, poor skin condition, and use of certain medications. Incidence or prevalence exceeded 10% across populations, peaking at 60.3% in the pediatric surgical ICU. Mechanical injury had the highest incidence and prevalence among MARSI types. Studied interventions and quality improvement measures were effective in reducing MARSI. CONCLUSIONS Despite increasing interest, evidence for reducing MARSI is limited. Future research should focus on distinguishing MARSI types, clarifying incidence and prevalence, assessing risk factors, and implementing screening and quality improvement initiatives.