Clinical application and evaluation of a new type of tracheal catheter fixation belt

Aim: To evaluate a new fixation band for tracheal catheter in intensive care unit. Design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of 90 patients admitted to the ICU between August 2018-February 2019 were enrolled in the study. Patients were randomly divided into experimental group and control group (N = 45/per each group). 3 M strong adhesive tape and a new tracheal catheter fixation band were applied to patients in two groups, respectively. The fixation effect, incidence of mucosal pressure injury and nursing cost were evaluated. Results: Forty-three patients from the experimental group and 42 patients from the control group participated in this study. Mild, moderate and severe catheter dislocation happened in 2, 0, 0 cases in the experimental group, and 6, 3 and 2 cases in the control group, respectively; the difference was statistically significant. The rates of mucosal pressure injury were 4.7% and 21.4%, which was significantly different, and the experiment group had a lower average daily nursing cost related to tracheal intubation. Conclusions: The new tracheal catheter fixation band, which allows for accurate fixation, is simple to operate, may reduce the incidence of mucosal pressure injury, decrease the nursing cost and improve the patients' comfort in clinical practice.

Automated summary

This study evaluated a new fixation band for tracheal catheter in the ICU. The results showed that the new band reduced catheter dislocation and the incidence of mucosal pressure injury, and also decreased nursing cost.