Surgical glove perforation rates in otolaryngology.

Abstract

Nine-hundred and eleven pairs of surgical gloves used by Ear, Nose and Throat surgeons and their scrub nurses were tested for perforations over a 6-week period. We studied the perforation rate for different surgical procedures and found the average rate to be 4.8%. The rates varied from endoscopy with a perforation rate of zero to major head and neck resections with a rate of 28.5%.