Infection Control

Study: Universal gloving could be viable alternative for contact precautions

Briefings on Infection Control, July 1, 2010

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Results show improved compliance rates and better skin health among healthcare workers

Every IP knows that when a patient is on standard contact precautions, the healthcare worker caring for that patient should be wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), including gloves, a gown, and a mask. 

The problem with contact precautions is ensuring that staff members are complying with proper PPE protocol.  

A study published in the May Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology found that a universal gloving policy could be equally as effective as placing patients under contact precautions for an MDRO infection. 

The 12-month prospective study in an 18-bed surgical ICU at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond included two phases. The first phase (first six months) measured the rate of compliance with contact precautions, and the second phase (second six months) measured the rate of compliance with universal gloving. Results showed that policy compliance was higher in phase two (78%) than phase one (67%), and hand hygiene compliance was higher in phase two before patient care (40% vs. 35%) and after patient care (63% vs. 51%). 

?Throughout the entire study, both the first and second phases, we did active surveillance cultures twice a week on all patients to see if they were carrying MRSA or VRE, and we also did concurrent or real-time surveillance for hospital-acquired infections like we do here with the hospital infection prevention unit,? says Gonzalo Bearman, MD, MPH, lead author of the study and associate hospital epidemiologist at Virginia Commonwealth.

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