Evaluate the integrity of surgical gloves and factors related to glove damage

Glove breakage is a common and often overlooked issue among medical staff. Most of the breakage occurs during the use of sharp tools such as surgery and injections, and there are also some damages caused by the quality of the gloves themselves. Glove breakage may pose a risk of infection, as pathogens can come into direct contact with the skin or even exposed mucous membranes through the damaged gloves. What is more noteworthy is that many medical staff have never noticed glove damage during the diagnosis and treatment process, further increasing the risk of exposure. This study evaluated the breakage rate and related influencing factors of surgical gloves after use, providing reference for medical staff.

Evaluate the integrity of surgical gloves and factors related to glove damage

Background:

Surgical glove perforation can cause serious complications for both patients and surgical personnel. The purpose of this study is to determine the perforation rate of surgical gloves and the related factors that cause glove damage.

Materials and Methods:

This study is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted from January to March 2017 in three surgical departments of a teaching hospital in Tunisia: Urology, Maxillofacial Surgery, and General Digestive Surgery. The collected gloves were tested for perforation according to the leakage test in European standard NF EN 455-1. The comparison of rates is conducted using chi square test, with a significance threshold of 5%.

result:

A total of 284 gloves were collected, of which 47 were perforated, with a perforation rate of 16.5%. All perforations were not detected by the surgical team members. Most (61.7%) of the perforated gloves were collected after urological surgery (P=. 0005), 77% of the perforated gloves were discovered during surgery lasting more than 90 minutes (P=. 001), and 96% came from the relatively thick A brand (P=. 015).

Conclusion:

This study highlights an important issue that was overlooked by members of the surgical team. The results once again emphasize the importance of using double layered gloves and the need to replace gloves during surgical procedures lasting over 90 minutes.

result

A total of 284 gloves from different departments were collected, and 49 participants from relevant operating rooms agreed to participate in this study, with a participation rate of 73.1%.

Leakage test

The results showed that the total perforation rate was 16.5% (47 perforations), with a total of 52 holes. The index finger is prone to perforation, with 18 holes (34.6%); Next is the thumb, which has 12 holes (23.1%); The ring finger has 8 holes (15.4%). 1 hole in the little finger (1.9%). The correlation between perforation location and dominant hand shows that the index finger of non dominant hand is prone to perforation (21.1%), followed by the thumb (15.4%). It is worth noting that all personnel wearing gloves found that their gloves had holes.

Factors related to glove perforation

The results showed that the perforation rate (76.6%) after surgery for more than 90 minutes was significantly higher than that of relatively short surgery times (total perforation rate was 23.4%, p=. 001). 61% of perforations occur in urological surgery, 21% in general digestive surgery, and 17% in maxillofacial surgery (P=. 0005).

conclusion

This study highlights an important issue that has been overlooked by surgical team members, even if it can lead to risks and potential serious consequences. Based on the results of this study, we recommend the systematic use of double-layer gloves and frequent replacement of gloves to reduce perforation rates and related risks. We also suggest increasing the attention of surgical team members to glove perforation, the importance of using double-layer gloves, and the factors and conditions related to the increase in perforation rate through training and meeting notifications. Further research is needed to focus on the effectiveness of these measures.