Hutchinson Santé launches G-Bact glove
Contains an antimicrobial layer that kills bacteria in the case of a micro-breach in the glove
French safety and comfort specialist Hutchinson Santé has launched the G-Bact surgical glove in Europe, which contains an exclusive antimicrobial layer that is said to kill more than 99% of bacteria should there be a micro-breach in the glove.
Surgical site infections (SSI) are reported to be the leading cause of mortality during surgery1 and in most cases, the germs come from the patient, says Dr Jean Carlet, former chairman of CTIN (French National Technical Commission against Nosocomial Infections), and WHO consultant.
Other risk factors can be attributed to the operating theatre environment: air quality, the use of insufficiently sterile equipment, and perforated surgical gloves. On average, 18% of surgical gloves become micro-perforated while being used and 80% of these glove breaches are not detected by the surgical staff2. These breaches may enable bacteria from the surgeon's hand to be passed on to the patient.
A recent clinical study showed that perforated gloves doubled the risk of SSI3, Carlet continued. Double-gloving provides extra protection by limiting the perforation rate of the inner glove, but in 18–48% of cases, both layers are perforated in the same place2. Moreover some surgeons are uncomfortable with the loss of dexterity caused by the thickness of two pairs of gloves, and by the layers slipping against each other.
The G-Bact glove is made from a multi-layer synthetic polymer that is resistant, watertight and reliable. The surgeon's touch sensitivity is not impaired because the glove has the thickness of a single-layered product. If the glove is damaged during use, the physical failure is instantly compensated for by the antimicrobial activity of the central layer that contains many reservoirs of a powerful antibacterial liquid. The ‘hand juice’ passing through the glove comes into direct contact with the antibacterial agent and the bacteria are neutralised upon contact.
In vitro tests to assess the efficacy of G-Bact on common bacteria known to infect wounds such as Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Escherichia Coli and Candida Albicans showed that the antibacterial glove reduces the number of bacteria passing through a glove breach by more than 99% compared with a traditional surgical glove.
“The clinical evidence between perforated surgical gloves and the rate of surgical site infections was established recently3. This study was what prompted the creation of G-Bact,” said Pierre Hoerner, director of Hutchinson Santé.
The G-Bact is safe because the antibacterial layer is totally isolated between two watertight layers made of synthetic elastomer, which prevents prolonged contact with the antibacterial agent, both for the medical staff and the patient. The antibacterial liquid is only released if the glove becomes perforated, and only at the place of the perforation.
1. http://www.u44.fr/nos/INFECT.pdf
2. Widmer et al, Paper presented at 34 Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Orlando, FL, 1994
3. H. Misteli and Al, Arch Surg, 2009; 144 (6): 553-558
