Foam Tape Allergy a Sticky Situation

Foam tape is commonly used in the emergency department as a dressing over chest tubes owing to its occlusive and compressible properties. There is a paucity of data regarding the incidence of significant cutaneous reactions to this material. We conducted a prospective trial to evaluate the incidence of dermatitis following application of foam tape to the upper arm of a cohort of healthy volunteers.

This was a prospective, interventional trial. We enrolled a cohort of consenting, healthy physicians, nurses, and ancillary staff at a teaching facility who did not have known hypersensitivity to foam tape. Study investigators applied a 2x2 inch piece of 3M microfoam adhesive to the medial aspect of each subject's upper arm. The contralateral arm served as a reference for comparison. The adhesive remained in place for 48 hours and the study authors assessed patients utilizing the previously validated Cutaneous Irritancy Scoring System (CISS). Categorical variables analyzed by chi-square, continuous variables with t-tests.

A cohort of consenting, healthy physicians, nurses, and ancillary staff at a teaching facility who did not have known hypersensitivity to foam tape were enrolled. Study investigators applied a 2x2 inch piece of 3M micro-foam adhesive to the medial aspect of each subject's upper arm. The contralateral arm served as a reference for comparison. The adhesive remained in place for 48 hours and the study authors assessed patients utilizing the previously validated Cutaneous Irritancy Scoring System (CISS).

One of the participants upper extremity (arm) was used for intervention and the same participants other arm was used as the control in this study. There was only 1 research arm in this study and all study participants were in it.

A 2x2 inch piece of 3M microfoam adhesive will be applied to the medial aspect of the subject's upper arm. The adhesive will remain in place for 48 hours at which time an investigator will remove the adhesive and assess the study area. A numerical value will be assigned based on the Cutaneous Irritancy Scoring System (CISS). The study site will be compared to the contra-lateral upper extremity at the end of the 48 hour period.

INCLUSION CRITERIA: Age 18 - 70 No reported history of dermatologic conditions No active dermatologic lesions Able to provide written consent to participation in the study. Resident and/or ancillary staff EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Hospitalized patients Adults unable to consent. Prisoners Adults with anaphylaxis to medical adhesives

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