title: Risk assessment of accidental exposure of surgeons to blood during orthopedic surgery. Are we safe in surgical gloves?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze tears in sterile surgical gloves used by surgeons in the operating theatre of the Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery Department, Copernicus Memorial Hospital, Łódź, Poland.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study analyzes tears in sterile surgical gloves used by surgeons by ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes. 1,404 gloves were collected from 581 surgical procedures. All gloves were tested immediately following surgery using the test method described in Standard EN455-1 (each glove was inflated with 1,000 ± 50 ml of water and observed for leaks for 2-3 min.).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analysis of tears took into consideration the role of medical personnel (operator, first assistant, second assistant) during surgical procedure, the type of procedure according to ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes, and the elective or emergency nature of the procedure. The results of the study show that these factors have a significant influence on the risk of glove tears. Significant differences were observed in tear frequency and tear location depending on the function performed by the surgeon during the procedure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study proved that the role performed by the surgeon during the procedure (operator, first assistant, second assistant) has a significant influence on the risk of glove tearing. The role in the procedure determines exposure to glove tears. Implementing a double gloving procedure in surgical procedures or using single gloves characterized by higher tear resistance should be considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine and Disaster Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Dariusz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Timler
authors.affiliation: Copernicus Memorial Hospital in Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Oktawiusz
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bończak
authors.affiliation: Copernicus Memorial Hospital in Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Jakub
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jończyk
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Policy, Medical University of Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Petre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Iltchev
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sliwczyński
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Standards, Procedures and Quality, Medical University of Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marczak
mesh_terms: D005932:Gloves, Surgical / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D009983:Orthopedic Equipment / Q000592:standards*; D009985:Orthopedics; D011044:Poland; D018570:Risk Assessment; D066231:Surgeons