INTRODUCTION
MARSI, skin injuries
SKIN
It is generally recognized that Medical Adhesive Related Skin Injuries (MARSI) are very common and can occur with any medical device that adheres to the skin. Elderly and premature infants are at particular risk for skin injuries based on their fragile skin.Pulse oximetry is a standard of care that is routinely used in the NICU on premature infants.Measurement of gentleness of an adhesive is based on measuring the disruption of the skin barrier. A consensus group of key opinion leaders recommends both trans‐epidermal water loss (TEWL) and the amount of protein removed as highly objective measures to clinically assess and document MARSI.The purpose of the current study was to compare the gentleness and reapplication of two pulse oximetry sensors, OxySoftN and MaxN (Medtronic, Boulder, CO). OxySoftN uses a new silicone‐based skin‐contacting adhesive, whereas MaxN uses an acrylic adhesive in the optical region and synthetic rubber adhesive in the tail region. The ability to reapply the sensor is characterized through peel force measurements on skin. The gentleness is characterized through TEWL and protein removal. Significant benefits were observed with the silicone‐based patient‐side adhesive.