Double Gloving

Abstract

Health care workers, particularly surgeons, understand the importance of preventing contamination from blood of patients infected with deadly viruses. One of the most common areas of contamination is the hands and fingers due to the failure of glove protection. There are varying opinions regarding the frequency of glove failure, the necessity of wearing two gloves for added protection, and the ability to operate when wearing two gloves. We performed a prospective, randomized, trial of 143 procedures involving 284 persons to answer these questions for surgeons and first assistants. Overall, the glove failure rate (blood contamination of the fingers) was 51% when one glove was worn and 7% when two gloves were worn. Acceptability was 88% in the group who agreed to wear two gloves, and 88% of these did not perceive that tactile sense was significantly impaired. We believe that double gloving should be, and can be, used routinely during major surgical procedures to protect surgeons from blood contamination.

Latex Medical Gloves: Time for a Reappraisal

“…The failure rate from blood contamination of the fingers in one study of surgeons was significantly decreased from 13 to 2% (p < 0.005) [37]. Another similar study among surgeons reported blood contamination to be 51% with single gloves and 7% with double gloves [41]. This particular trial also reported that 88% of the surgeons who tested double gloving found the technique acceptable.…”

Surgical glove perforation during laparoscopic colorectal procedures

“…As colorectal surgery is generally associated with a higher SSI rate than other types of surgeries, the prevention of glove perforation during colorectal surgery may have a greater impact on decreasing the SSI rate than other protection measures [ 5 – 7 ]. To avoid breaching the protective barrier, thereby protecting both the medical workers and the patients from harm, double gloving or changing gloves at routine intervals during surgery is recommended [ 3 , 8 , 9 ].…”