Evaluation of microbial contamination of surgical gloves during actual use.

The contamination rate of gloves is about the same for all scrubbed personnel, be they single or double gloves (33%). More holes are noted in the gloves of personnel who use their hands more strenuously. A double pair of gloves does not reduce the amount of contamination but does reduce the number of holes. The contamination could not be associated with the hole in the glove in our study. The amount of contamination beneath the glove does not influence its exterior contamination. Contamination generally comes from somewhere else in the operative field environment.