Glove perforation in pediatric orthopedic practice.

A prospective study was conducted to assess the glove perforation rate during 100 consecutive pediatric orthopedic operations. Eight hundred fifty-four gloves were tested for perforations. The overall glove perforation rate was 8.43%. Assistant surgeons had a rate of 45.8%, surgeons 33.4%, and scrub nurses 20.8%. More perforations were noticed on the left glove; the thumb and index finger were the most common sites of perforation. The duration of surgery was significantly related to the perforation rate. Two patients had postoperative wound infections and the gloves of surgeons and assistant surgeons were found to be perforated. Every attempt needs to be made to reduce the risk of glove perforation.