Exam gloves do not provide a perfect barrier. (Nitrile Gloves Most Resistant to Puncture).(Brief Article)

PHOENIX, ARIZ. -- Gloves are an important way to reduce infection transmission, but they are not quite the 100%-effective barrier many assume them to be, Dr. Curtis P. Hamann said at the annual meeting of the Pacific Dermatologic Association.

Latex gloves are considered the "standard" against which all other gloves are measured, said Dr. Hamann, president of a Phoenix-based medical and dental supply company. But, even on the best of hands, they are less than perfect.

About 60 studies have looked at the failure rate of natural rubber latex gloves in real clinical settings. Those studies have reported rates ranging from 1% to 58%.

Seven studies have investigated the failure of vinyl gloves in the clinical environment. Those studies also report a similarly broad range of failure rates, from 3% to 85%.

The most obvious and most common reason that gloves fail is that they get punctured, often by long nails or jewelry, making those probably the most important factors in glove failure, Dr. Hamann said. But another factor that physicians are not usually aware of is the fact that polycarbons can permeate and break down latex, perhaps violating the barrier so that organisms can get through. The substances that contain polycarbons include methacrylates; epoxy resin; alcohols; peroxides; chloroform; glutaraldehyde; and, perhaps most importantly, the petroleum base of many hand lotions.

"Any polycarbons coming in contact [with latex] can create problems," Dr. Hamann said. "Hand lotions that have a petroleum base, applied prior to the donning of the glove, will substantially increase failure. This is why there are very strong labeling requirements on latex [condoms] that they are not to be used with any petroleum-based products."

The fact that such a broad range of failure rates are reported for gloves, regardless of material, suggests that manufacturing has ...