Contamination of surgeons' glove fingertips during surgical operations.

The external surfaces of surgeons' gloves were examined for contamination by bacteria during the course of surgical operations. Of 31 operations studied the surgeons' glove surfaces yielded bacteria at the end of the operation in 16 cases. Bacterial contamination increased during the course of the operation. The surgeons' fingertip skin and nail beds were cultured after surgical hand scrub and drying, but before donning gloves; bacteria were recovered from these sites in 10 of 21 and 13 of 21 cases, respectively.