Background: In an academic setting due to financial constrain, it is not uncommon during non-surgical procedures dental students and clinical supervisors wash their gloved hands with disinfectants in between patients or when touching on non-contaminated objects. Whether this practice could cause any deterioration of the glove and expose clinicians and patients to infectious micro-organisms was a concern.
Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of multiple washes of gloved hands with a disinfectant on the integrity of the gloves. Methods: Three brands of commonly used gloves in a dental school were tested for leaks after multiple washes with a disinfectant. Thirty pairs of each type of gloves were subjected to 0, 1, 5, 10, 20 and 30 washes with a disinfectant solution at a 5-minute interval between each wash. After each washing cycle, the gloves were filled with 1L of water and hanged for 2 minutes to observe any signs of water leaks.
Results: The results showed that the type of gloves and number of washes were significantly associated with the leakage rates (p<0.001). Washing of gloves for more than 5 times were at least 6 times higher to suffer from leakage (OR=6.23, 95% CI=2.14–18.08). Powdered gloves were almost 13 times higher to leak in all washes (OR=12.78, 95% CI= 4.40–37.14) and were almost 25 times more likely to leak when washed for more than 5 times (OR = 24.92, 95% CI = 5.79 – 107.21) when compared to the non-powdered gloves.
Conclusion: The practice of washing gloved hands with a disinfectant deteriorates the integrity of the gloves.
Key words: Cross infection, disinfectant, glove, leakage, micropores