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Removing Outer Gloves as a Method to Reduce Spinal Surgery Infection

Amina Rehman1, Atiq-Ur Rehman, Tausif-Ur Rehman

  • 1*Aga Khan Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan †Department of Neurosurgery, King Fahd Specialists Hospital, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia ‡Department of Neurosurgery, St. Francis Medical Center, Topeka, KS.

Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques
|April 9, 2013
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Changing gloves before instrument use significantly reduced surgical site infections in lumbar spinal fusion patients. This simple intervention lowers infection rates, improving patient outcomes after this common procedure.

Area of Science:

  • Orthopedic Surgery
  • Infectious Disease Prevention
  • Surgical Safety Protocols

Background:

  • Postoperative infection is a significant complication of posterior lumbar spine fusion, with rates up to 9%.
  • Staphylococcus aureus, often from skin flora, is a common pathogen, implicating surgical gloves in pathogen transfer.
  • Current protocols may not sufficiently mitigate the risk of intraoperative contamination.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of a specific glove change protocol in reducing postoperative infection rates.
  • To determine if removing the outer glove before handling instrumentation impacts infection rates.
  • To identify a simple, cost-effective method to enhance surgical site infection prevention.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective cohort study involving 389 patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion.
  • Patients were divided into a control group (standard protocol) and a treatment group (outer glove removal before instrumentation).
  • Infection rates were compared between groups up to one year postoperatively.

Main Results:

  • The treatment group showed a statistically significant reduction in infection rates.
  • Infection rates decreased from 3.35% in the control group to 0.48% in the treatment group (P=0.0369).
  • The glove change intervention demonstrated a substantial decrease in postoperative infections.

Conclusions:

  • Removing the outer glove before handling instrumentation is a simple and effective infection control measure.
  • This practice offers a cost-effective strategy to reduce the burden of postoperative infections in lumbar spinal fusion.
  • The findings support the adoption of this protocol to improve patient safety.

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