gloving is far from a universal practice. Even though AORN is firm on
the matter of double gloving with an inner indicator glove — a col-
ored pair of gloves worn underneath a standard pair of gloves — only
about half (49%) of the 192 perioperative personnel Outpatient
Surgery Magazine polled last month routinely double glove. Could
AORN's recommendation be any more direct? "Scrubbed team mem-
bers should wear 2 pairs of surgical gloves, one over the other, during
surgical and other invasive procedures that have the potential for
exposure to blood, body fluids or other potentially infectious materi-
als." For another, surgeons and nurses subscribe to several myths
about double gloving. Here's evidence-based advice for overcoming
those objections.
1. Glove barrier failure is rare. Glove tears and perfo-
rations are anything but rare. Whatever the reason, glove barrier fail-
ure occurs more frequently than you might think. It's scary when you
6 3
February 2015 | O U T PAT I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T
How Often Does Your
OR Team Double Glove?
It's no secret that double gloving helps prevent surgical site infections.
It's also no secret that your surgeons and staff would rather not wear 2
pairs of gloves. Only about half (49%) of the 192 respondents to a recent
online poll say their surgical teams routinely double glove. The results:
• all of the time 25%
• most of the time 24%
• some of the time 38%
• none of the time 13%
SOURCE: Outpatient Surgery Magazine InstaPoll,
January 2015, n=192
InstaPoll
