title: Prospective data collection and analysis of perforations and tears of latex surgical gloves during primary endoprosthetic surgeries.
abstract: Introduction:Surgical gloves are used to prevent contamination of the patient and the hospital staff with pathogens. The aim of this study was to examine the actual effectiveness of gloves by examining the damage (perforations, tears) to latex gloves during surgery in the case of primary hip and knee prosthesis implantation.Materials and methods:Latex surgical gloves used by surgeons for primary hip and knee replacement surgeries were collected directly after the surgery and tested using the watertightness test according to ISO EN 455-1:2000.Results:540 gloves were collected from 104 surgeries. In 32.7% of surgeries at least one glove was damaged. Of all the gloves collected, 10.9% were damaged, mainly on the index finger. The size of the perforations ranged from ≤1 mm to over 5 mm. The surgeon's glove size was the only factor that significantly influenced the occurrence of glove damage. Surgeon training level, procedure duration, and the use of bone cement had no significant influence.Conclusions:Our results highlight the high failure rate of surgical gloves. This has acute implications for glove production, surgical practice, and hygiene guidelines. Further studies are needed to detect the surgical steps, surface structures, and instruments that pose an increased risk for glove damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zaatreh
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Enz
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Annett
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klinder
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: König
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mittelmeier
authors.affiliation: Institutes for Biostatistics and Informatics in Medicine and Ageing Research, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Günther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kundt
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfram
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mittelmeier
keywords: ISO DIN 455-1; infection risk; joint replacement; latex; orthopedic surgery; perforations; surgical gloves; tears