Appeel® Sterile Medical Adhesive Remover – safeguarding patients against medical adhesive- related skin injuries (MARSIs)

MARSIs occur when superficial layers of skin are removed during the removal of medical adhesive products or devices. These can occur within all care settings.

The removal of medical adhesive products or devices is not only associated with increased nursing time due to the pain, anxiety and difficulty it can cause, but the occurrence of a skin injury can increase the patients’ risk of wound infection (potentially leading to sepsis) and cause morbidity. The prevention of MARSIs should be considered an integral part of patient care to reduce avoidable patient suffering and promote better outcomes. The financial and nursing-time costs of MARSIs can be high; each medical adhesive-related skin injury requires an average of 7.8 treatments at a cost of £1.10 – £7.90 per treatment^1.

Appeel® Sterile Medical Adhesive Remover helps to remove adhesive appliances from the skin easily, reducing the risk of skin injury, pain and infection. The unique formulation works by penetrating between the adhesive and the skin, loosening the bond without compromising the surrounding area. Due to its sterility, the product is highly recommended for high-risk patients including those with open wounds, intravenous access sites, central lines, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEGs), and those who are immunocompromised^2. Appeel® Sterile Medical Adhesive Remover is currently the only sterile silicone-based adhesive removal product suitable for use on intact and broken skin and complements the clean and aseptic techniques used within the acute setting.

Appeel® Sterile Medical Adhesive Remover is available as a single-use foam applicator which allows for accurate application, 5ml liquid sachet for large areas and dressings such as abdominal or spinal, wipe for use on small adhesive tapes, dressings and around nasogastric tubes and a single-patient, multiple-use 100ml spray for multiple dressing changes and urinary sheath removal. All formats are available to order from the NHS Supply Chain.

For more information on our products, call the CliniMed Careline on 0808 1596 017, or email info@clinimed.co.uk

^References:

^{1. McNichol L, Bianchi J. Medical adhesive- related skin injuries (MARSI) Made Easy. London: Wounds UK 2016. https://www.wounds-uk.com/resources/details/medical-adhesive-related-skin-injuries-marsi-made-easy (accessed 6 April 2020)} 

^{2. Fumarola S Allaway R, Callaghan R, Collier M, Downie F, Kiernan S, Spratt F. Overlooked and underestimated: best practice consensus document on prevention. J Wound Care 2020; 29(3 Suppl 2): S1–S24}