Resistance of double-glove hole puncture indication systems to surgical needle puncture

Double-gloving has been shown to reduce conclusively the risk of operating room personnel's exposure to blood. Limiting risk of exposure to blood by double-gloving provides protection against the transmission of bloodborne diseases. Realizing the importance of double-gloving, a double-glove hole puncture indication system exists that accurately detects the presence of glove hole puncture in the presence of fluid. Once a glove puncture is recognized by this double-glove hole puncture indication system, it provides a warning to the surgeon to remove the punctured gloves, wash hands, and don a new, sterile double-glove hole puncture indication system. While accurately identifying the presence of glove hole puncture in the presence of fluid, this double-glove hole puncture indication system also has resistance to needle puncture superior to that of single gloves. It is the purpose of this study to document the resistance to needle puncture of latex and non-latex double-glove hole puncture indication systems using a reproducible experimental model. The resistance to needle puncture of the double-glove systems was significantly greater than that of the undergloves or outer gloves alone. The resistance to glove puncture of the non-latex and latex single and double-glove systems was significantly greater than those encountered by the latex single and double-glove systems, respectively. On the basis of their accuracy in detecting glove hole puncture, combined with their demonstrated superior resistance to surgical needle puncture as compared to single gloves, these latex and non-latex double-glove hole puncture indication systems are recommended for all surgical procedures.