Hand Deserve Better: global clinical consensus recommendations on surgical gloving practice.

Area of Science:

• Surgical Safety and Infection Control
• Evidence-Based Practice in Healthcare

Background:

• Surgical gloves are essential for maintaining an aseptic barrier, preventing microorganism transfer between patients and surgical teams.
• Optimal surgical gloving practices are vital for ensuring both provider and patient safety in operating rooms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and synthesize the best available evidence on fundamental surgical gloving principles.
• To inform operating room staff about best practices in surgical gloving to improve safety outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Conducted four parallel systematic literature reviews following PRISMA guidelines.
• Utilized the Delphi Technique for health sciences to develop consensus statements.
• Included 258 articles from an initial screening of 10,137 articles.

Main Results:

• Identified 10,137 articles, screened 7979 abstracts, and assessed 411 full-text articles.
• Drafted 12 potential consensus statements based on 258 included articles.
• An expert panel reached consensus on ten clinical practice recommendations.

Conclusions:

• Developed ten consensus recommendations for surgical gloving practices.
• Recommendations cover critical areas including glove fit, double gloving, indicator glove use, and glove change frequency.
• The findings provide evidence-based guidance to optimize surgical gloving and enhance safety.