Studying the advantages of single-use tape

by Shawn Ryan

STUDIES HAVE indicated that multi-use tape found in most operating rooms is a carrier of infection-causing pathogens, some as deadly as Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.

But no studies have been published that examine whether single-use tape can reduce the number of healthcare-associated infections.

School of Nursing faculty Laura Tyndall, assistant program coordinator-nurse anesthesia concentration, and Rachel Nall, clinical assistant professor, are changing that.

In what appears to be a first-of-its-kind study, they're conducting research to determine whether single-use tape is a safer choice to reduce surgical-site infections in the 30 days after an operation. Specifically, they're examining whether single-use tape is a better choice for nurse anesthetists when securing endotracheal tubes.

Now taking place at Erlanger Hospital, the study is in the data-gathering phase, which is expected to be finished by January 2022. Submission of the data to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Journal will most likely be March or April 2022 with publication of the research depending on the journal's editorial calendar, Tyndall says.

"To our knowledge, this is an innovative approach and first study of its kind that utilizes the many research recommendations that suggest utilizing single-use taping systems," Tyndall and Nall say in the study's proposal.

"The significance of this study addresses the potential to change one of the last areas of multi-use anesthesia practice (taping) that could be potentially contributing to a portion of the 440,000 (healthcare-associated infections) in hospitals on an annual basis. Through this study, we plan to create a justification for the movement toward single-use taping systems to protect patients and to maintain an anesthetist's reputation as a source of help, comfort, and trust among patients.

"The taping system chosen for utilization in this study meets the parameters of several previous studies for a hygienic taping system: The tape is in a single, disposable package; its design is intended to prevent migration of the endotracheal tube; and the tape has easy-to-follow directions that require minimal education to the anesthesia provider," the proposal says.

Image of MRSA bacteria under microscope. Photo credit: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention