Lip tape therapy in patients with a cleft lip--a report on eight cases.

INTRODUCTION: Lip tape therapy or lip taping is a widely used tissue approximation technique in cleft lip babies. Vari ous tapes have been tested and used worldwide. Allergic reactions and skin irritation are the most common problems encountered. Tension force across the tape cannot be consistently applied. Cost is also an obstacle to adopting lip tape therapy, particularly in developing countries. AIM: A study was undertaken to evaluate a different tape, "physio tape", which has never been used for lip approxima tion in cleft lip babies. METHOD: Eight babies were available for this study, which was conducted over a six-week period (Ethical Approval number 33/2013). Standardised pre- and post-treatment recordings were made with a digital camera and soft tissue analysis was carried out with Cliniview software. RESULTS: All participants showed a reduction in cleft size ranging from 9.1mm to 36.7mm at the vermillion end of the cleft. Caregivers had no difficulty with the lip tape procedure and generally no untoward or allergic reactions were reported. CONCLUSION: On the basis of the positive results of this in vestigation, t is recommended that this method of lip tape therapy be used on all babies born wth a cleft lip. It is affordable, simple to use and should facilitate the surgical repair.

Outcomes of nasal bridling to secure enteral tubes in burn patients.

BACKGROUND: Reliable securement of nasally inserted enteral tubes is a problem in patients with facial burns that make use of traditional adhesive tape ineffective. OBJECTIVE: To implement the nasal bridle as a way to decrease inadvertent removal of nasally inserted enteral tubes and improve subsequent patient outcomes. METHODS: The nasal bridle was implemented in the burn unit of the University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kansas, as a quality improvement project. Outcomes for the calendar year 2010 were measured in patients treated before use of the bridle (prebridle control group) and in patients for whom the bridle was used. The groups were compared on measures of tube insertions per tube day, abdominal radiographs per tube day, and a number of complications. RESULTS: A total of 50 patients were studied: 33 in the control group and 17 in the bridle group. Baseline characteristics of age and sex did not differ between the groups. The bridle group had significantly fewer tube insertions and abdominal radiographs per tube day than the control group. Although complications were generally less common in the bridle group, the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: In burn patients, use of a nasal bridle to secure nasally inserted tubes had clinical advantages over securement with traditional adhesive tape.