[Perforations and porosity of surgical gloves. Frequency, mechanism, risk]

Surgical gloves constitute part of the most exposed barrier material, as one half of accidental exposures to blood in the exposures to blood in the operating room involve the hands. Approximately 15% of gloves tested at the end of the operation were found to be perforated. Double gloving lowers this rate to 5% with apparently acceptable tolerance for surgeons. Although surgical glove are initially impermeable to various viruses, the porosity increases with the duration of use. This porosity is related to hydratation and deformation of latex fibres. The maintenance of a good barrier function of surgical gloves requires regular changing, at least hourly, in the current state of knowledge.