Double Gloving Reduces Infection for All

A new surgical glove designed to reduce the risk of infection, both to the surgeon and the patient, can be worn as a single glove or for use as an under-glove when double gloving.

The new gloves are made of especially thin latex, for heightened tactile sensitivity. They feature a smooth grip for ease of double gloving and have a blue tint that makes it easy to differentiate them from standard gloves and to readily identify outer glove puncture. These Protegrity Blue gloves are manufactured by Cardinal Health (Dublin, OH) in an advanced triple-dip bonding technology.

In December 2005, the U.S. Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN, Denver, CO, USA) issued a guidance statement on preventing sharps injuries in perioperative settings. It specifically recommended double gloving during operative or invasive procedures. The recommendation was largely based on a literature review published in the April 2002 edition of Managing Infection Control, where 21 of the 46 studies reviewed significantly concluded that double-gloving did help prevent blood contact with the surgeon. Only five studies concluded that double-gloving had no impact on blood contact.

However, infection is a two-way street. In a study by Dr. Noel Tulipan, 863 patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, TN) were examined to determine the effect of double gloving on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt infection rates. Donning two pairs of gloves while performing surgery appeared to reduce the incidence of postoperative shunt infection by more than 50%, compared to donning only a single pair. That study was published in the January 2006 edition of the Journal of Neurosurgery.

While many health professionals believe in double gloving when performing surgery, many do not routinely do so. Reasons cited for dissatisfaction with double gloving include tactile loss, discomfort, difficulty of donning two gloves, and the time needed to don them.


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