title: Results of microbiological investigations on the permeability of procedure and surgical gloves.
abstract: Procedure gloves are considered to be important to prevent infections when handling potentially contaminated items. We tested two sorts of vinyl- and 4 sorts of polyethylene-copolymer-gloves, 20 gloves of each, towards the ability of Proteus mirabilis ATCC 15143 to penetrate the glove material. The gloves were fastened in bottles containing 700 ml sterile nutrient broth and then filled with 300 ml of a bacteria suspension having a density of 10(8) cfu/ml. The samples were taken directly and 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 24 h after starting the test. Immediately after the inoculation in 10 to 85% of the gloves a migration of Proteus mirabilis could be detected. After 24 h the rate was 25 to 90%! The penetration of Escherichia coli-lambda-phages (10(6) pfu/ml) was investigated in a similar arrangement. Here 20 to 90% of the gloves were previous in the first 5 to 10 min. Additionally tested latex gloves were impermeable up to 4 h after inoculation. The results of this study lead to the conclusion that it is necessary to improve glove materials. To examine the impermeability for microorganisms the methods used in this investigation are recommended as quality control procedures.
authors.affiliation: Abt. Hygiene, Sozialhygiene und Gesundheitswesen im Klinikum der Universität Kiel, FRG.
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Gerhardt
mesh_terms: D010582:Bacteriophage lambda / Q000502:physiology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005932:Gloves, Surgical / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011513:Proteus mirabilis / Q000502:physiology*; D012307:Risk Factors