3M Critical & Chronic Care Solutions today announced enhancements to its 3M Tegaderm I.V. Advanced Securement Dressings aimed at improving securement, wear time and proper application. In clinical evaluations of the upgrades, more than nine in 10 clinicians reported overall added value as the result of the enhancements, citing specific improvements in catheter stabilization, unscheduled dressing changes and ease of dressing application.

3M Tegaderm I.V. Advanced Securement Dressings deliver exceptional care that accommodates clinician needs and patient comfort. The dressings are designed for advanced securement, allow for continuous site observation, and provide a waterproof, sterile barrier to external contaminants while remaining highly breathable. Innovative adhesives manage moisture and allow for gentle removal, while additional features promote consistent and accurate application. Tegaderm I.V. Advancement Securement Dressings may be worn for the life of a PIV catheter and provide up to seven days of wear time for CVCs, providing excellent value.

“At 3M, we never stop striving for better design,” said Wendy Rens, global business director, 3M Critical & Chronic Care Solutions. “We are vigilant in looking for ways to make our products more intuitive and harder-working for clinicians and their patients. These enhancements to Tegaderm I.V. Advanced Securement dressings reflect our commitment to ongoing innovation.”

Upgrades will automatically roll to all four product SKUs (1683, 1685, 1688 and 1689) in the coming months. Corresponding training resources will be updated in conjunction.

Specific design updates to Tegaderm I.V. Advanced Securement Dressings include:

• Improved securement. A reinforced border, deep notch, and tape strips work together to enlist the entire dressing in securement. A larger securement tape strip enhances securement, and the label tape is constructed in the same way as the primary securement strip for additional stability. A keyhole-shaped notch has been added to fit easily and conform around catheter hubs and lumens, and a new conforming edge border technology is designed to increase conformability and reduce edge lift.
• Enhanced patient comfort. Innovative adhesives hold strongly, manage moisture, and release gently. A stabilization border has an innovative adhesive that reduces edge lift and boosts securement. A conformable edge flexes with patient movement and offers more breathability.
• Enhanced ease of application. The larger securement tape strip promotes more consistent application, and frame delivery makes placement accurate and easy while minimizing the potential to stick to gloves or to itself. A new waterproof film coating on the tape strip and documentation label improves handling and reduces soiling as well as allows for easy tape removal to access catheter hubs.

To learn more, visit www.3M.com/TegadermIV.