Aug 05

Today’s Surgical Gloves
Help Users Get a Grip on Hand Irritation
by Julie Williamson

Surgical gloves provide an undoubtedly critical and effective barrier against bloodborne and other pathogens in the operating room. Unfortunately, many surgical professionals who routinely don them also know the gloves can also provide them with a bothersome case of dermatitis.

Further exacerbating the problem is the repeated washing and scrubbing prior to gloving, as well as the use of latex gloves, which—despite awareness surrounding latex allergy and sensitivity—remain the gold standard in the OR because of their strength and tactile sensitivity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that skin irritation can pose a “significant barrier” to the adherence to recommended hand hygiene guidelines. What’s more, U.S. Department of Labor statistics show that nurses miss an average of two workdays a year due to dermatitis.

The good news is glove manufacturers are making real headway in the surgical glove segment, offering a slew of new and improved synthetics that offer exceptional strength and barrier protection and improved fit and feel, as well as gloves with fewer irritants, moisturizing properties to stave off dermatitis and polymer coatings to make donning a snap.

Tossing out the powder
In recent years, glove vendors have become increasingly committed to addressing the problem of latex allergies and Type IV allergic reactions to irritants found in surgical gloves.

Surgeons who prefer latex gloves, but wish to limit their exposure to latex proteins and powder (which aids donning, but can irritate the skin), have a bevy of options available. Leading vendors offer a broad range of powder-free gloves—many of which are designed to reduce aerosolization, offer exceptional strength and grip, prevent roll-down and make donning easier.

Cardinal Health’s Ultrafree max powder-free surgical glove, for example, is ideal for long, intense procedures because it is the thickest and the strongest and provides the greatest barrier protection of any Cardinal Health glove. It is lubricated for easy, effortless donning, soft, yet durable, and contains a beaded 12” cuff to prevent roll-down and provide extended hand and wrist coverage.

Ansell Healthcare offers a wide array of powder-free surgical gloves, including the Gammex SureFit glove, the Ultralon Powder-free sterile surgical glove, and the Encore Powder-Free line. The Gammex SureFit is a general purpose, powder-free, latex surgical glove specifically developed to overcome cuff roll-down experienced by operating room personnel when wearing the new impervious surgical gowns. The Ultralon Powder-free sterile surgical glove contains a polymer coating to enhance donning, a mico-textured surface for reliable grip and an inverted, beaded cuff to help prevent roll-down. The Encore Powder-Free line features patented, continuous polymeric coating for effortless damp-hand donning, exceptional dexterity and tactile sensitivity, a textured surface and beaded cuff, and an ergonomic design for improved comfort.

Kimberly-Clark Healthcare’s SAFESKIN Powder-Free Surgical Gloves come in a range of thickness to meet the stringent requirements of various procedures. The SAFESKIN PF Micro gloves, for example, are thinner that KC’s standard SAFESKIN PF gloves to provide enhanced textile sensitivity required for delicate procedures. They offer extraordinary damp hand donnability and KC’s proprietary process provides excellent wet and dry grip for improved dexterity.

Sempermed’s Supreme surgical gloves are powder-free to prevent aerosolization, anatomically designed, and include beaded cuffs and a special multi-layer copolymer composition that provides enhanced strength and protection during surgery.

Medline Industries’ Aloetouch and Triumph powder-free surgical glove lines feature a proprietary inner polymer coating for easy donning and double gloving.

Synthetic gloves make headway
Those in the market for latex-free surgical gloves may be surprised by the improved quality of synthetic alternatives. Technological advancements—driven by the healthcare industry’s push to offer quality, comfortable and tactile-sensitive latex-alternatives—have helped make latex-free gloves the fastest growing segment in the surgical glove market; the segment now totals roughly one-third of surgical gloves sold in the U.S.

Today’s latex- and accelerator-free gloves offer far more durability, protection, comfort and tactile sensitivity than their predecessors. Most glove vendors are now in the synthetic glove market and have successfully developed products that fit, feel and perform like natural rubber latex.

Cardinal Health’s Duraprene Synthetic Surgical Glove is lightly powdered for ease of donning, and its patented anatomical design provides comfort and helps reduce hand fatigue. The Esteem line of synthetic surgical gloves is developed with Cardinal’s patented polyisoprene formulation. The molecular structure of Esteem polyisoprene synthetic rubber is nearly identical to natural rubber latex, with the only difference being that the natural rubber latex proteins and allergens have been eliminated. The Esteem glove is also available with a surface modification technology finish. SMT is a new step in the Cardinal Health glove manufacturing process that delivers a glove that feels more like the bare hand than ever before.

Ansell Healthcare’s Allure and Derma Prene gloves are also latex-free. Allure non-latex surgical gloves have elongation properties and naturally tapered fingers for added comfort and touch sensitivity, are powder-free, have a damp hand donnable coating and a beaded cuff to help prevent roll-down. Derma Prene Ultra Powder-free, Latex-Free Sterile Surgical Gloves are developed with a blend of second-generation neoprene, feature a damp hand donnable polyurethane coating and are a unique green color for instant identification as a latex-free glove.

The Elastylite line from ECI Medical Technologies is made with “next generation” 100% synthetic copolymer. The gloves are latex-, accelerator- and chlorine-free, which eliminates the risk for Type I allergies and Type IV sensitivities. For a latex-free and powder-free glove, ECI offers the Elastyfree surgical glove, which is manufactured with an inner coating to allow for easy damp donning.

Sempermed’s Syntegra CR, manufactured with polychloraprene (neoprene), offers a similar fit and feel to latex, and Medline Industries’ Neolon PF Powder-Free, Latex-Free Surgical Gloves feature an inner coating that eases donning, a soft brown color to minimize eye strain in the O.R. and provide good contrast to light-colored organs, curved fingers to reduce hand fatigue, and reinforced beaded cuffs to resist tearing and prevent roll-down.

Regent Medical’s Biogel Surgical Gloves are made with a proprietary Neoprene composition that shares the same molecular structure with natural rubber latex. The gloves also feature an ultra-precise anatomically engineered fit to help maintain glove position.

Beyond the basics
A number of glove manufacturers believe it isn’t sufficient to just offer gloves that help reduce risk of skin sensitivity. Today, some are taking their manufacturing process a step further by offering surgical gloves that can actually improve skin and relieve dermatitis.

Medline’s Aloetouch powder-free glove contains and inner coating of pure aloe vera that helps moisturize and soothe dry, irritated hands. Medline also offers a fully synthetic glove with an aloe vera inner coating—the SensiCare with Aloe.

Cardinal Health’s Neu-Thera glove line features an emollient that is clinically proven to improve skin health and protect hands from irritation. To assure the effectiveness of Neu-Thera in improving skin health and protecting against irritation, Cardinal Health sponsored a series of clinical studies by the California Skin Research Institute.

“Clinical trials indicate that one in four nurses have symptoms of dermatitis and eighty-five percent of the nurses indicate they experienced some type of skin problem at one time or another,” said Michael Lynch, president of Glove Products at Cardinal Health. “We wanted to create a glove that would go beyond the standard attributes of protection and comfort – we wanted a product that would actually improve the health of the clinician’s skin.”

Results from an independent clinical testing facility specializing in dermatology testing revealed that Regent Medical’s Biogel surgical gloves also prevent moisture loss from the skin and create a soothing effect on the hands. The “terpolymer” coating, which is applied as the lining of every Biogel glove, self-lubricates when it comes into contact with damp hands and enables the glove to be slipped on easily and the hands to continue to feel supple after the gloves have settled snugly into place.

“Biogel users have repeatedly told us how Biogel gloves made their hands feel better after use, and now we have test results that explain these anecdotal comments,” noted Milt Hinsch, Regent Medical’s Director of Technical Services. “Biogel gloves help guard against dry, cracked skin which can potentially lead to contact dermatitis and can reduce the risk of cross infection during surgery.”