Key Considerations for Medical Glove Selection

Key Considerations for Medical Glove Selection

By Deborah Davis, MS, MBA

Infection control is a vital concern in healthcare today, andintelligent and informed use of personal protective equipment is a criticalcomponent of your facility's infection control program. Medical gloves are partof PPE that are most frequently donned by healthcare professionals today.

When choosing a glove, the first consideration should be the barrierrequirement related to the procedure or task. Consider the level of exposurerisk prior to selecting a glove. Patient care activities that involve exposureto blood, body fluids, and other potentially infectious material and activitiesthat may stress the glove material, such as handling of instruments and sharpsand management of vascular lines, are examples of high-risk situations. Patientcare activities that require glove use for short periods of time and minimalexposure to blood or body fluids are considered low risk for exposure. Examplesof low risk situations are administering an intramuscular injection, routinesuctioning, caring for a newborn, emptying a urinal, and handling food.Individual usage patterns and length of time that the glove is worn may alsoaffect glove barrier effectiveness.

While price is certainly an important factor and comfortable fit, ease ofdonning, and grip need to be considered, barrier protection is the reason glovesare worn in the first place. So what should you look for when selecting medicalgloves? Medical gloves are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)and must meet certain performance criteria. Many other optional tests can giveadditional information about how the gloves will perform.

Additionally, gloves labeled as "powder-free" are required by theFDA to have 2 milligrams or less of total particulate per glove, and the lowestallowed protein level claim is "less than or equal to 50 micrograms perglove."

Suppliers know what test methods were used in generating these data. TheAmerican Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has standardized methods totest for many of these parameters. Using these standardized methods helps assurethe technical validity of the testing and provides consistency when makingcomparisons among different products.

Understanding the tests and standards that are used to measure theperformance of medical gloves and the significance of the results will help youto choose products that provide the best barrier protection and performance forboth healthcare workers and their patients.

Deborah Davis, MS, MBA, is technical director for the Gloves BusinessUnit of Allegiance Healthcare Corporation. Her primary responsibilities includedriving clinical research initiatives, coordinating various aspects of productdevelopment between the marketing, regulatory, manufacturing, research anddevelopment organizations; and publication and presentation of technicalinformation for customers and field sales personnel. Davis is currently adoctoral student at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Ask the supplier for the following information when selecting medicalgloves:

Tensile Stress (modulus)

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