Patients’ experiences with the application of medical adhesives to the skin: a qualitative systematic review

Abstract

Objectives Medical adhesives provide securement of medical devices, facilitate skin protection and allow non-invasive monitoring. Application and removal of medical adhesives can result in pain, dermatitis, trauma or other skin lesions. Understanding patients’ experiences when subjected to medical adhesives will contribute to the improvement of clinical routines and the development and improvement of new adhesive technologies. A qualitative systematic review was conducted to identify patients’ experiences with the application of medical adhesives to the skin.Design Qualitative systematic review.Data sources CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsycINFO were systematically searched for records published between January 2012 and March 2024. Reference lists of systematic reviews and included articles were reviewed.Eligibility criteria Studies published in Danish, Dutch, English, German, Norwegian and Swedish that collected qualitative data on the experience of patients with the application of medical adhesives to the skin were considered. There were no restrictions regarding age, gender or setting.Data extraction and synthesis Study selection, data extraction and quality appraisal were independently conducted by two reviewers. The methodological quality of the studies under consideration was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool for Qualitative Research. The extracted data were synthesised using meta-aggregation.Results Nine studies describing patients’ experiences were included. The included studies only reflected experiences with wound dressings. Meta-aggregation of the extracted findings resulted in seven categories that were further synthesised into two synthesised findings: ‘strategies to alleviate pain during dressing changes’ and ‘dressing construction and characteristics’. The synthesised findings illustrate that patients experience pain during dressing change and removal and employ various strategies to alleviate this pain.Conclusions Patients experience pain and discomfort when dressings are changed or removed. Future research should focus on enhancing both routines and technologies, with a particular emphasis on advancing skin-friendly adhesives to reduce unwanted side effects.PROSPERO registration number CRD42023457711.