By Holly Hovan MSN, GERO-BC, APRN, CWOCN-AP
“Top-down skin injuries” is an increasingly common term used to describe superficial cutaneous injuries. Top-down injuries result from damage beginning at the skin’s surface or the soft tissue. In contrast, “bottom-up injuries” are often the result of ischemia. Top-down injuries usually result from mechanical forces, inflammation, or moisture. Common top-down injuries are moisture-associated skin damage, skin tears, and medical adhesive–related skin injury (MARSI). In this blog, I focus on assessing, defining, and preventing MARSI.