- Overview
- Products
- Negative Pressure Wound Therapy
- Wound Dressings and Compression
- Skin Care
- Surgical
- Vascular Access
- Sterilization Monitoring
- Temperature Management
- Adhesive Securement
- Patient Monitoring
- Respiratory Protection
- Securement and Immobilization
- Prevention
- Pressure Injuries
- Adhesive Skin Damage
- Moisture Associated Skin Damage
- Bloodstream Infections
- Hypothermia
- Tube and Line Dislodgement
- Cross Contamination
- Electrode-Related Alarm Fatigue
- Hand Hygiene
- Treatment
- Pressure Injuries
- Diabetic Foot Ulcers
- Venous Leg Ulcers
- Traumatic Wounds
- Surgical Incisions
- Open Abdomen
- Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis
- Edema and Lymphedema
- Oncology Care
- C. difficile infection
- Resources
- Education
- Support
Helping to reduce the risk of secondary complications and minimize inefficiencies
We recognize that you’re being asked to do far more with far less right now, and protecting health care providers with PPE continues to be our top priority. We’re also here to support you by helping to reduce the risk of secondary complications and minimize inefficiencies so that you can focus on what matters most – providing care to your patients.
Explore guidelines, best practices and resources to help reduce the risk of secondary complications and minimize inefficiencies in the following areas:
Each day, a nurse can be prompted by as many as 700 alarms per patient day,¹ many of which are related to ECG monitoring. A significant proportion of ECG alarms are false or triggered by clinically insignificant events.²,³
-
Here are some quick tips to reduce the amount of time spent responding to and troubleshooting ECG alarms:
- Clip excessive hair
- Properly clean and dry the skin
- Abrade the skin (for adult patients only) to reduce skin impedance and improve trace quality
- When applying the electrode, activate the pressure sensitive adhesive
- Evaluate alarm parameter settings
-
Related resources
-
3M℠ Health Care Academy courses
Thank you for your feedback. We will continue to update our COVID-19 webpages with the feedback you have provided.
Our Apologies...
An error has occurred while submitting. Please try again later...
Every IV site presents the potential for infection, dislodgement, skin damage and other complications. Through evidence-based practice and the right standards of care, you can help improve outcomes for every patient.
Disinfect and protect IV access points
The traditional standard of care in IV access point disinfection has been a thorough manual scrub of the IV access point with an alcohol pad, often referred to as “scrubbing the hub.” 3M™ Curos™ Disinfecting Port Protectors provide several advantages over the scrub the hub protocol:
-
Save timeCuros alcohol-impregnated caps provide fast passive disinfection, saving nurses valuable time compared to most scrub the hub protocols. In addition, no drying time is required to achieve disinfection.
-
Provide a physical barrierThey provide a physical barrier to contamination between accesses, for up to 7 days.
-
Remove user technique variationOnce a Curos cap is twisted into place, it provides consistent disinfection.
-
Provide visual confirmationCuros caps’ bright color help caregivers verify that a port is clean at a glance.
Secure critical tubes
In one study, unplanned extubations occurred in 22.5% of patients in the intensive care setting.⁴ When you need to keep a tube, device or bulky dressing securely in place, you need adhesion you can count on. 3M™ Multipore™ Dry Surgical Tape is a high-strength, conformable tape that gives you confidence in your securement applications.
-
High-strengthCan be used for a variety of clinical applications including endotracheal tubes.
- For use in dry conditions
- Maintain close clinical oversight when excessive fluids and/or secretions are present
- Tape securement and tube position should be monitored routinely
-
Strong adhesionGood initial adhesion to dry and wet skin. -
Strong backingSpecialized backing repels water and resists tearing under stress.
-
Easy to useRemovable grid liner for precise cutting and customization to any shape and size with scissors.
If you’re looking for short-term endotracheal tube securement solutions, learn more (PDF, 287 KB).
-
3M℠ Health Care Academy courses
Up to 41% of ICU patients may develop a pressure injury (PI), and most are developed within the first week of admission.⁵ When using prone positioning for patients, at-risk areas for PIs include medical device areas, face, knees, clavicles and pelvis.
-
Explore tips from the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel to help reduce the risk of PIs for prone positioning:
In the average 500-bed hospital, infected wounds add 10 days to the length of stay.⁶ Every infected wound requires a decisive treatment plan to help clear the infection and re-establish an environment for healing. The following steps can help with this goal:
-
- Determine the bacterial stage
- Develop a plan to resolve the infection including appropriate debridement and/or systematic antibiotics if clinically required
- Choose the wound management products matched to patient needs
-
Studies have shown that advanced therapies such as negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) used to manage wounds have the potential to provide cost savings to the healthcare system that may include:
- Reduced cost of care in acute and post-acute settings7,8
- Reduced risk of hospitalization and emergent care episodes9
- Reduced total nursing time and wound related costs10
- Reduced risk of repeat skin graft and associated length of hospital stay11
The instillation of topical wound solutions in combination with NPWT can help facilitate the removal of wound exudate and infectious material which have been shown in clinical studies to help promote wound healing compared to traditional NPWT alone.12
-
Related resources
-
NOTE: Specific indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions and safety information exist for KCI products and therapies. Please consult a physician and product instructions for use prior to application. This information is intended for healthcare professionals. Rx Only.
-
References
1. Cvach MM, Biggs M, Rothwell KJ, Charles-Hudson C. Daily electrode change and effect on cardiac monitor alarms: an evidence-based practice approach. J Nurs Care Qual. 2013;28:265-271.
2. Drew BJ, Harris P, Zegre-Hemsey JK, et al. Insights into the problem of alarm fatigue with physiologic monitor devices: a comprehensive observational study of consecutive intensive care unit patients. PloS One. 2014; 9(10): e110274.
3. Bonafide CP, Localio AR, Holmes JH, et al. Video analysis of factors associated with response time to physiologic monitor alarms in a children’s hospital. JAMA Pediatr. 2017; 171(6): 524-531.
4. Shu-Hui, Y., Li-Na, L., Tien-Hui, H., Ming-Chu, C., & Li-Wei, L. (2004). Implications of nursing care in the occurrence and consequences of unplanned extubation in adult intensive care units. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 41, 255-262.
5. Cox J, Roche, S and Murphy V. (2018). Pressure Injury Risk Factors in Critical Care Patients: A Descriptive Analysis. Adv Skin & Wound Car,. 31(7): 328-334.
6. Zhan C, Miller MR. Excess Length of Stay, Charges, and Mortality Attributable to Medical Injuries During Hospitalization. JAMA. 2003 October 8; 290(14): 1868-74.
7. Apelqvist J, Armstrong DG, Lavery LA, et al. Resourc utilization and economic costs of care based on a randomized trial of vacuum-assisted closure therapy in the treatment of diabetic foot wounds. Am J Surg. 2008; 195 (5): 782-8.
8. Lavery LA, Boulton AJ, Niezgoda JA, et al. A comparison of diabetic foot ulcer outcomes using negative pressure would therapy versus historical standard of care.International Wound Journal. 2007; 4(2): 103-13.
9. Schwien T, Gilbert J, Lang C. Pressure ulcer prevalence and the role of negative pressure wound therapy in home health quality outcomes. Ostomy Wound Manage. 2005; 51(9): 47-60.
10. Vuerstaek JD, Vainas T, Wuite J, et al. State-of-the-art treatment of chronic leg ulcers: A randomized controlled trial comparing vacuum-assisted closure (V.A.C.) with modern wound dressings. J Vasc Surg. 2006; 44: 1029-38.
11. Scherer LA, Shiver S, Chang M, et al. The vacuum assisted closure device. A method of securing skin grafts and improving graft survival. Archives of Surgery. 2002 Aug;137 (8): 930-934.
12. Gabriel A, Rauen B, Simplified Negative Pressure Wound Therapy with Instillation: Advances and Recommendations. Plast Surg Nurs 2014;34(2):88-92.
