COMPLIANCE WITH GLOVING IN ANESTHESIA - AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF GLOVING PRACTICE AT INDUCTION OF GENERAL-ANESTHESIA

Study Objective: To gather direct observational data on anesthesiologi sts' compliance with universal precautions' gloving standards during i nduction of general anesthesia. Design: Prospective, observational stu dy. Setting: Operating theaters of art Israeli government teaching hos pital. Subjects: Over a four-month period, all ''first case of the day '' general anesthetics were observed to determine if the anesthesiolog ist directly administering patient care wore gloves during the period of anesthetic induction. All anesthesia department members were observ ed and none was aware of the ongoing study. Measurements and Main :Res ults: Resident anesthesiologists were found to be more compliant with glowing policy than their attendings (61.8% vs, 33.7%, p < 0.0001). Ho wever, the lower compliance among the attending was entirely attributa ble to the most senior staff members (over age 55 years) whose complia nce rate was 11.5% versus 55.6% for attending staff below age 55 years (p < 0.0001). Departmental compliance as a whole was 49.6%, Complianc e in pediatric cases averaged 10% and was equally poor among all depar tment staff. Conclusions: Although glove use remains inconsistent, in less than one and one half years since institution of a departmental g loving policy, a substantial degree of compliance was achieved. Nevert heless, further efforts are still needed to improve compliance with un iversal precautions. In this Study, glove use was particularly deficie nt in pediatric cases and among senior staff aged 55 years and older P inpointing specific areas of greatest deficiency may prove useful in g uiding additional efforts to improve compliance with universal precaut ions. (C) 1997 by Elsevier Science Inc.