Ferndale, MI — June 18, 2026 — New AVA Podcast Highlights STICKY Trial Findings

on Reducing CVC Dressing Failure
 

Why it matters: Maintaining central venous catheter (CVC) dressing integrity is a daily challenge in intensive care units, especially with jugular CVCs. When dressings lift or fail, patients may face repeated dressing changes, greater risk of skin injury and increased risk of infection.

What’s new: A recent Association for Vascular Access I Save That Podcast episode explored findings from the STICKY Trial, a randomized controlled trial evaluating Mastisol®, a gum mastic medical liquid adhesive, as part of jugular CVC dressing securement in ICU patients.

The discussion featured Nicole Marsh, RN, PhD; Amanda Corley, RN, PhD; Evan Alexandrou, RN, PhD; and Tricia Kleidon, PhD, MNSc, BNSc, who discussed the clinical and practical implications of the trial for vascular access and critical care teams.

The key finding: Adding Mastisol to the dressing border helped CVC dressings stay intact longer and reduced the need for replacement dressings.

Small changes in dressing technique can have meaningful clinical impact. In the STICKY Trial:

• Dressing failure was 28% with medical liquid adhesive versus 50% with standard care.
• Clinicians performed 64 dressing replacements in the Mastisol group compared with 124 in the standard-care group.
• Median dressing wear time was more than doubled in the Mastisol group compared to the control group.

The patient impact: Fewer dressing failures may mean fewer dressing changes, less repeated adhesive removal and reduced risk of medical adhesive-related skin injury, particularly for critically ill patients with fragile or compromised skin.

The nursing impact: Dressing disruption adds work at the bedside. By reducing replacement dressings, the STICKY Trial suggests that medical liquid adhesive may help reduce avoidable nursing workload and free time for higher-acuity care.

The infection-prevention connection: An intact dressing serves as a protective barrier over the catheter insertion site. Although the STICKY Trial was not powered to demonstrate a reduction in bloodstream infections, its microbiology substudy found lower levels of microbial colonization at catheter insertion sites in the Mastisol group.

The practical advantage: Mastisol was incorporated into existing dressing protocols and used with the transparent dressings already in place at study sites. The trial also estimated savings of approximately $11 AUD per patient, largely from fewer dressing replacements and reduced nursing time.

Bottom line: The STICKY Trial challenges the assumption that frequent disruption of CVC dressings is unavoidable. For vascular access and critical care teams, the findings point to a practical opportunity: strengthening dressing adherence at the outset may help reduce avoidable interventions later.

Learn more:

• Listen to the AVA I Save That Podcast episode on the STICKY Trial (1 CE contact hour, until 8/18/26)
• Read the STICKY Trial in Critical Care Medicine.
• Contact Eloquest Healthcare to discuss how Mastisol may fit into your CVC dressing securement protocols.

Reference:
Marsh N, O’Brien C, Larsen EN, et al. Securing Jugular Central Venous Catheters With Dressings Fixed to a Liquid Adhesive to Prevent Dressing Failure in Intensive Care Patients (the STICKY Trial): A Randomized Controlled Trial. Critical Care Medicine. 2025;53(2):e282-e293. www.ovid.com/jnls/ccmjournal/fulltext/10.1097/ccm.0000000000006533~securing-jugular-central-venous-catheters-with-dressings