MARSI: An under-recognized and serious complication

INTRODUCTION TO MARSI

• Medical Adhesive-Related Skin Injury (MARSI) is a common type of skin injury which is often seen in vulnerable patients with fragile skin such as elderly or pediatric patients

• It is caused by trauma to the skin from medical adhesives, and typically manifests as a skin tear, blistering, moist or macerated skin, folliculitis, skin-stripping, or superficially denuded skin

• Regimens and adhesives have been developed to minimize the incidence of MARSI, but it has proven difficult to achieve satisfactory adhesion while also avoiding skin damage

• MARSI can severely reduce the patients’ quality of life by causing pain, increased risk of infection and delayed healing 

• A study in an elderly long-term patient population found that the incidence rate of MARSI was as high as 15.5%*)

• Even though MARSI has been under-recognized historically, its proven prevalence has brought attention to the problem both in the research literature and among health care companies  

Source: WoundsUK; 3M; WoundSource

Notes: *) Konya et al, 2010