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The researchers conclude that
research typically focuses on the pro-
tection double-gloving offers surgeons,
but doubling up on glove layers does in
fact help protect operating room nurses
as well.
Quantifiable dangers
According to a study in the journal
BMC Infectious Diseases
(
tinyurl.com/pxavkyl)
of 98 outer gloves
and 96 inner gloves worn during open
abdominal cases, small perforations
occurred in 10% of outer gloves and 1% of inner gloves after an aver-
age of 100 minutes of use during surgery. The researchers noticed
bacterial migration through 5% of outer gloves and 1% of inner gloves,
with bacterial migration rates as high as 54.5% detected through the
micro-perforations, which confirms previous results that bacterial
migration through unnoticed micro-perforations in surgical gloves
does occur under real practical surgical conditions.
"The intact surgical glove is the most important barrier to protect
the patient from microorganisms from the hand of the surgical team,
and the hands of the surgical team from the patient," write the
researchers. They note 70% of the perforations to the outer gloves in
this study could have been detected by an indicator-glove system.
This, together with the fact that only 1 of all tested inner gloves was
punctured, indicates that the double-gloving indicator system provides
reliable prevention of microorganism transmission. OSM
E-mail
dcook @outpa tientsurg ery.net
.
D O U B L E - G L O V I N G
PROTECTIVE LAYERS Inner pairs of
gloves are less likely to be compromised by
needles, blades or bones.
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