title: Glove perforations with blunt versus sharp surgical needles in caesarean delivery: a randomized trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the rate of glove perforations and surgeon satisfaction when utilizing blunt surgical needles compared to conventional sharp surgical needles.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients undergoing Caesarean delivery were randomly assigned to the use of blunt or sharp surgical suture needles. Surgical team members reported any known needlesticks or perforations of gloves and the primary surgeon completed a survey to gauge their satisfaction with the needles. Glove perforation was assessed by suspending gloves and filling with water. The chi-square test was used to assess categorical variables and the Mann-Whitney U-test was used to assess ordinal data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total 240 patients were enrolled into the study. There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of glove perforation per case between groups assigned to sharp (24%) or blunt surgical needles (26%). (RR 1.05, 95% CI 0.68-1.63). There were significant differences in the surgeon satisfaction surveys, with surgeons in the sharp needle group being more satisfied with the tissue penetration of the needle (p < .001), needle integrity (p = .01), force to penetrate tissue (p < .001) and control of bleeding at the needle insertion site (p = .001). Surveys from surgeons in the blunt needle group showed a statistically significant improvement in the perceived safety profile of the blunt needles (p < .001) CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference in the rate of glove perforation between blunt and sharp surgical needles during Caesarean delivery. Overall surgeons were more satisfied with the sharp surgical needles.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Women's and Children's Health, Dunedin Hospital and Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Stitely
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Close
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferda
authors.forename: Suwan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mehra
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Malson
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hembree
mesh_terms: D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005932:Gloves, Surgical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D009339:Needles / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016602:Needlestick Injuries; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014903:West Virginia