1997 Volume 43 Issue 1 Pages 33-38
Breakage of gloves during clinical examinations and surgery has been sporadically reported by various departments. We compared the frequency of breakage of vinyl gloves (VG) with that of latex gloves (LG) during the treatment of outpatients, since no such report has been published previously. We studied 627 pairs of VG (1254 gloves) and 495 pairs of LG (990 gloves) used for treatment in the outpatient clinic of our department. The breakage of VG and LG was compared with regard to the clinical experience of the physician the duration of treatment, the awareness of breakage, as well as the site, extent, and cause of breakage. A water leak test was employed to objectively examine used gloves. Breakage occurred in 27.0% of VG, which was about 4.4 times greater than the breakage rate for LG (6.1%). Breakage of VG was about twice as common for the left glove than for the right, but there was no difference for LG. With both/types of gloves, about 60% of the breaks were not detected during treatment, suggesting the risk of contamination of the surgical field by the fingers. The frequency of breakage of LG during dental treatment varies widely among departments, i. e., from 2.8 to 50%. With VG the most frequent site and cause of damage were needle injuries affecting the index finger of the left hand, whereas with LG the palm of the right hand was most frequently damaged by the needle holder. The fit and strength of gloves were problems with VG, while the breakage of LG was less common. Among physicians with 1 to 2 years' clinical experience, breakage was common despite a short duration of treatment, indicating that the utmost caution is required even when LG are used.
