Clove leakage rates as a function of latex content and brand - Caveat emptor

Hypothesis: That water leakage rates and protection against blood-borne pat hogens should not vary as a function of latex content among Food and Drug A dministration-approved gloves, allowing avoidance of unnecessary latex expo sure. Design and Methods: Eighteen different glove types were purchased and teste d using the American Society for Testing Methods Standard Test for Detectin g Holes in medical gloves, which involves mounting the glove on a plastic t ube, pouring a liter of tap water into the glove, and visually inspecting t he glove initially and after 2 minutes Half of the gloves were tested strai ght from the package and half after a standardized manipulation. Setting: a university hospital. Results: Eleven sterile glove types (5 high latex content , 4 low latex con tent, and 2 nonlatex content), and 7 nonsterile examination glove types (2 high latex content, 2 low latex content, and 3 nonlatex content) were teste d (total tested, 3720 gloves). Leakage rates were greater for examination t han for surgical gloves (relative risk [RR], 1.41,95% confidence interval [ CI], 1.01-1.96), for manipulated than for unused gloves (RR, 2.89, 5% CI, 1 .98-4.22), and for low latex content surgical gloves (RR, 2.58, 95% CI, 1.3 5-4.92) or nonlatex content surgical gloves (RR, 4.93, 95% CI, 2.35-10.32) than for high latex content surgical gloves. Significant differences were o bserved among low latex content surgical gloves (P less than or equal to.00 1) and all types of examination gloves (P=.0015) especially after the stand ardized manipulation (leakage rates ranging from 0%-30%). Conclusions: Food and Drug Administration approval should not be interprete d as suggesting equality of different manufacturers' products. Some low lat ex and nonlatex content gloves are very resistant to leakage and should pro vide an effective barrier for preventing exposure to blood-borne pathogens, while others may not.