Protection of operative personnel in abdominal surgery with single-layer glove or double-layer gloves

Objective: To assess protection of operative personnel in abdominal operation with single-layer glove or double-layer gloves.Methods: Gloves used in abdominal operation for more than 1 hour were collected in the operation when the gloves were removed or at end of the surgical procedure.The collected gloves were tested by the air inflation and the water leaking method.The presence of blood or fluid on hands of operation personnel and comfortable feeling with double gloves were recorded.Results: Six hundred gloves used in 58 cases of abdominal operation of more than 1 hour were collected.One hundred and forty-seven gloves were found to have perforation in 490 single-layer gloves.Seventy-six gloves were changed during operation,the hands with 47 gloves on were contaminated,and 61 gloves were tested at end of the surgical procedure.In the double-layer gloves,perforation was found in 32 gloves in the outer glove and 9(16.3%) in the inner glove.Conclusions: Hands of operation personnel should be observed seriously during operation to avoid contamination by blood and fluid of the patients.It is recommended that double-layer gloves be used routinely in surgical procedures to protect hands of operative staff,especially in the operation for patients with virus in the blood.