Double Gloving Guidelines for Medical Procedures

Primary Recommendations

• The British Medical Association recommends double gloving in all high-risk surgical procedures, including major abdominal, trauma, fracture, burns, vascular, gynecological, and cardiovascular operations, as well as orthopaedic surgery when power tools are used, to significantly reduce the risk of hand contamination and percutaneous exposure to bloodborne pathogens 1, 2
• Double gloving is indicated for emergency operations, and for patients with known or suspected HIV infection, hepatitis B virus infection, or in areas of high HIV/hepatitis prevalence 1, 2

Practical Implementation

• The British Medical Association suggests changing gloves frequently if outer gloves become damaged, and notes that no loss of dexterity occurs with double gloving 1, 2
• For particularly hazardous surgery, consider using a fabric glove layer between two rubber gloves, which reduces perforations by 76% compared to standard double gloving 1, 2

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• The British Medical Association advises against reserving double gloving only for known high-risk patients, as screening tests are imperfect and many high-risk patients remain unidentified 1, 2
• Double gloving is accepted by the majority of surgeons, especially with repeated use, and loss of sensitivity is not a valid concern for avoiding double gloving 1, 2