Infection prevention
Role of glove quality in maximising staff safety
Gloves are commonly over-used in healthcare settings, and an incorrect choice of gloves can result in important consequences, such as increased risk of cross-transmission, exposure of healthcare providers to increased risk, or increased cost and waste. Jon Otter highlights some key considerations and best practice to ensure optimum safety.
Hand hygiene is a vital component in preventing the spread of micro-organisms that can cause infections in health and care settings.1
Most of the
time, hand hygiene using either alcohol-based handrubs (ABHRs) or hand washing using soap and water is adequate as an intervention to both a) prevent the spread of micro-organisms that can cause infections between patients and b) to protect healthcare providers from micro- organisms that could cause them harm.1, 2 Gloves also form a vital part of the provision
of safe and effective healthcare. Gloves are widely used in healthcare and are, along with hand hygiene, an important tool in preventing and combating healthcare-associated infections (HCAI), which currently represent one of the most common adverse events for patients undergoing healthcare. HCAI are a major public health burden.3
Gloves can be used,
depending on the scenario, to protect patients from infectious micro-organisms originating on the hands of healthcare providers or to protect healthcare providers from exposure to infectious micro-organisms originating from patients or other service users.2 Achieving safe and effective hand hygiene
practices, including the appropriate use of gloves, is very challenging to achieve in practice. Observational audit suggests that compliance with hand hygiene opportunities in health and care settings is far from 100%. A systematic review of observational hand hygiene studies found that compliance was, on average, 40%.4 While the methodology of observational audits of hand hygiene compliance varies, inappropriate use of gloves is undoubtedly responsible for a substantial number of missed
opportunities for hand hygiene.5 Since compliance with hand hygiene
protocols is rarely 100%, it is not surprising to find that the hands of healthcare workers are found to be contaminated with significant micro-organisms in the context of HCAI when sampled. For example, a systematic review found that 5-10% of staff hands are contaminated with significant micro-organisms that can cause HCAI.6 The most common use-cases for gloves
are the use of sterile gloves during sterile procedures (for example in operating theatres), to care for patients who are known to be infected or colonised with certain infectious
If an appropriate glove is not selected for the task at hand, consequences can be significant, both in terms of infection risk and over-use of gloves.
micro-organisms (such as MRSA, influenza, or SARS-CoV-2), to protect against exposure to blood and body fluids during patient care, or when undertaking Exposure-Prone Procedures (EPP) where the risk of exposure to unknown sharp objects may result in the patient being contaminated with the blood of the healthcare provider and a consequent risk of spread of blood-borne viruses (BBV).2 Gloves are commonly over-used in healthcare settings, and an incorrect choice of gloves can result in important consequences, such as increased risk of cross-transmission, exposure of healthcare providers to increase risk, or increased cost and waste.4 The paper outlines the use-cases for gloves,
an overview of factors directing the choice of gloves, downsides associated with the overuse of gloves, a consideration of how glove quality influence choice, and a summary of best practices related to the use of gloves in health and care settings.
November 2024 I
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