[The rupture of surgical gloves in a general hospital]

We studied the incidence of rupture of surgical gloves used at a general hospital: A) new gloves (n = 114); B) gloves used at a major general, gynecological or urological operation (n = 258), and C) recirculating surgical gloves (n = 86). A special techniques based on transmission of an electrical signal through the rupture was used to identify rupture. Rupture was present in 8.8, 28 and 26% of surgical gloves in groups A, B and C, respectively. Type of surgery or surgeon involved did not influence rupture of gloves in group A. However, rupture increased in relation to the duration of surgery (40% incidence in operations lasting more than 90 min). Our results suggest the need for better quality control of new surgical gloves and glove change after 90 min of operation.