For most patients, medical adhesive removal is a necessary but unpleasant part of the healthcare journey. Strong adhesives are essential for maintaining dressing integrity – particularly for vascular access securement – but they can pose significant challenges when it’s time to remove the dressing. It can involve painful tugging, irritation, and discomfort, especially for individuals with sensitive skin, such as patients with cancer or diabetes, as well as the elderly and children.

Fortunately, a removal product like Detachol^® Adhesive Remover can reduce stress, save time and improve the overall patient experience – making proper adhesive removal less daunting for patients and healthcare professionals alike.

Patients with certain medical conditions often experience heightened skin fragility, making adhesive removal an ordeal. Elderly patients have even thinner, more fragile skin, which can further exacerbate the problem. For pediatric patients, unfamiliar or uncomfortable medical procedures can cause anxiety and distress, making adhesive removal even more difficult.

All these issues can increase a patient’s risk of experiencing a medical adhesive-related skin injury (MARSI), including skin tearing and epidermal skin stripping. MARSI not only results in pain and anxiety for patients but can also increase the risk of infection and increase morbidity, as well as contribute to higher healthcare costs.

Preventing MARSI is critical for patient care. One way to protect the skin from these types of injuries is the use of adhesive removers, a strategy supported by both the 2021 Infusion Therapy Standards of practice and a MARSI patient safety consensus panel.

1. Safety: Minimize skin irritation and damage during adhesive removal without irritating ingredients that can affect skin integrity, such as alcohol or acetone, while remaining compatible with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG), which is a common ingredient in many antimicrobial preparation products.

 

2. Efficacy: Completely and painlessly remove all adhesive residue, which can harbor bacteria, potentially resulting in infection. Work successfully on various types of medical adhesives, including those used for vascular access lines.

 

3. Ease-of-use: Single, precise applicator to dissolve solvent by gently, breaking bond between dressing and patient’s skin. Significantly expedites the removal process.

 

4. Patient Experience: Improve quality of care to increase patient outcomes and care ratings. Avoid adhesive remover wipes and sprays that can be ineffective or have shocking temperatures to reduce anxiety and stress during the removal process to enhance the overall patient experience.

 

Detachol is a nonirritating adhesive remover that helps break down the adhesive bond between the tape/dressing and skin, is gentle on the patient’s skin, and allows for easy removal of adhesive products and residual material. Unlike conventional adhesive removers, Detachol does not contain alcohol or acetone which can disrupt the skin barrier and cause irritation/injury at the application site.

Kayla Jordan, RN, VA-BC, Manager, Vascular Access Services at HCA Healthcare TriStar Division, explained how the 12 facilities she oversees began to depend on Detachol, particularly at their large cancer center.

“Our bone marrow transplant patients can have very delicate skin, and we were having skin integrity issues when removing dressings,” Jordan explained. “But once we started using Detachol, it became a much easier process – it has really saved their skin.”

Moreover, some adhesive removers, such as spray remover, can be extremely cold when applied, adding an extra layer of discomfort for young patients. “Children are often afraid of the cold spray remover in the aerosol can,” Jordan explained, “but with Detachol, it’s no longer traumatic.” Notably, some providers have even been able to perform difficult dressing changes without even waking the children.

“I carried it like gold to the Peds Onc unit, where I had to do a dressing change to reposition a pediatric line, I had placed in the PICU. I was almost in tears about the situation and new diagnosis of a mass they found in her chest,” Carmen Rich, Supervisor, Vascular Access Services at HCA Healthcare TriStar Division, added. “Because of this product, I was able to remove my perfect dressing and reposition the line…all while the little girl slept!”

Careful adhesive removal has the potential to greatly improve patient care. By adopting a dedicated medical adhesive remover, hospitals can reduce stress, save time, and enhance the overall patient experience. This time-saving benefit is particularly crucial for healthcare providers, as it allows them to allocate more time to patient care.

“I tell all my nurses to have it with them in case they need it,” said Jordan, “and now we’ve encouraged every floor in all our facilities to stock it.”

Eloquest Healthcare is committed to providing solutions that can help you reduce the risk of conditions like MARSI. For more information about Detachol^® Adhesive Remover or to request an evaluation, please contact your sales consultant or Eloquest Healthcare, Inc. by calling 877‐433‐7626 or by completing this form