ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to determine changes in overall costs associated with conversion to powder-free gloves including cost of workers' compensation cases for natural rubber latex (NRL)-related symptoms and health care workers' glove satisfaction. The study, a 2-year, longitudinal design with retrospective and prospective aspects, was developed to determine health care worker use of powder-free, low-protein NRL gloves, sensitization, cost, and glove satisfaction. Informed consent was obtained from 103 health care workers. Prior to glove conversion, nearly one-half (44%, 36 of 82) of the operating room staff reported symptoms related to NRL exposure. At the end of the 14-month data collection period, only 27% (22 of 82, McNemar test = .007) reported symptoms related to NRL exposure. Additionally, a cost savings of 10,000 dollars per year for gloves was evident with reports of increased user satisfaction. This study demonstrated that conversion to the use of powder-free, low-protein NRL gloves not only reduces health care worker NRL symptoms, but also positively affects the costs of glove purchases and workers' compensation.
Subject(s)
Gloves, Surgical , Latex Hypersensitivity/prevention & control , Occupational Diseases/prevention & control , Adult , Attitude of Health Personnel , Cost Savings , Cost of Illness , Cost-Benefit Analysis , Female , Gloves, Surgical/adverse effects , Gloves, Surgical/economics , Gloves, Surgical/standards , Hospitals, University , Humans , Latex Hypersensitivity/economics , Latex Hypersensitivity/etiology , Male , Middle Aged , Occupational Diseases/economics , Occupational Diseases/etiology , Occupational Exposure/adverse effects , Occupational Exposure/economics , Occupational Exposure/prevention & control , Personnel, Hospital/psychology , Powders/adverse effects , Prospective Studies , Retrospective Studies , Rubber , Surveys and Questionnaires , Workers' Compensation/economicsABSTRACT
This study examined health care worker satisfaction with the use of non-powdered natural rubber latex (NRL) surgical gloves to determine the impact of non-powdered NRL gloves on the NRL sensitization of operating room personnel. The study used a 1-year longitudinal design to obtain recall information from employees about their NRL exposure. Additionally, a survey was completed by participants related to their satisfaction with non-powdered NRL gloves. Informed consent was obtained from 103 employees. After conversion to an operating room using non-powdered NRL, there was a significant decrease in reported symptoms with NRL exposure (42% pre- and 29% post-conversion, Fisher's exact, two-tailed, p = .0001). This study demonstrated that the conversion to non-powdered low-protein NRL gloves resulted in decreased symptoms because of NRL exposure.
