A temperature-sensitive, high-adhesion medical tape: a comparative, single-blind clinical trial.
Shawn Swanson, Vivian Luu, Ryan Smith and 7 others
PMID 37830828WHAT IT FOUND
Warming this new high-adhesion tape before removal cut pain by 58% and redness by 45% in healthy adults.
It stuck as well as Tegaderm but hurt less to take off. The tape is not yet available for clinical use.
Key findings
01Applying a heat pack for 30 seconds before removal reduced pain by 58% for ThermoTape, a statistically significant change not seen with Tegaderm or KRT.
02ThermoTape showed a 45% reduction in skin redness when removed with heat, suggesting less skin trauma compared to removal without heat.
03ThermoTape exhibited similar wear to Tegaderm, indicating comparable adhesion strength, but significantly less wear than the low-adhesion silicone tape KRT.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study population consisted only of healthy adults aged 18–25 with intact skin, so results may not apply to older adults, children, or patients with fragile skin or wounds. The trial was conducted during a heatwave, which may have affected sweat levels and tape adhesion, particularly for the PET-backed prototype. The tape is a prototype with a PET backing, which is less breathable than the polyurethane used in commercial products like Tegaderm. Participants could likely distinguish the silicone tape (KRT) from the others, potentially compromising the blinding for that comparison. This is the first clinical trial of this prototype; long-term wear and performance on actual patient populations have not been tested.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by the National Science Foundation and the University of Washington.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this tape is ready for clinical use or that it performs on fragile, wounded skin as it did on the healthy forearms of young adults in this study.