Over a 12-month period, researchers randomly observed staff members for compliance with double gloving — where scrubbed surgical team members wore a second, colored pair of gloves — in the operating room at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Pittsburgh. Additionally, researchers conducted a review of sharps injuries over a 45-month period following intensive education on a hands-free neutral zone technique and sharps injuries.
Results of the study showed that when staff members were compliant with double gloving techniques, there was a decrease in skin contact breaches, reducing the risk of occupational exposure to infection and risk of surgical site infections for patients. Results also showed the use of a hands-free neutral zone technique decreased the rate of sharps injuries.
Read the AORN Journal study’s abstract about infection prevention.
Read other coverage about infection prevention:
– Researchers Assess Whether ICD-9 Infection Codes are Predictors of Surgical Site Infections
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