Gloves Reprocessing: Does It Really Save Money?

Abstract

Gloves are reprocessed and reused in health-care facilities in resource-limited settings to reduce the cost of availability of gloves. The study was done with the aim to compute the cost of reprocessing of gloves so that an economically rationale decision can be taken. A retrospective recordbased cross-sectional study was undertaken in a central sterile supply department where different steps during reprocessing of gloves were identified and the cost involved in reprocessing per pair of gloves was calculated. The cost of material and manpower was calculated to arrive at the cost of reprocessing per pair of gloves. The cost of a reprocessed pair of surgical gloves was calculated to be Indian Rupee (INR) 14.33 which was greater than the cost of a new pair of disposable surgical gloves (INR 9.90) as the cost of sterilization of one pair of gloves itself came out to be INR 10.97. The current study showed that the purchase of sterile disposable single-use gloves is cheaper than the process of recycling. Reprocessing of gloves is not economical on tangible terms even in resource-limited settings, and from the perspective of better infection control as well as health-care worker safety, it further justifies the use of disposable gloves.

Organization and workflow management of central sterile supply department of a tertiary care hospital of Haryana

“…Reprocessing of gloves was not economical on tangible terms even in resource-limited settings, and from the perspective of better infection control as well as health-care worker safety. 11 There is a necessity of inclusion of recall procedures in the SOPs of CSSD. Recall procedure must specify who to report first in case of failure of sterilization, actions to be undertaken and format for recall report.…”

Using the MEAT VBP Framework to analyse and understand the value of surgical gloves: an explanatory case study

“…Disposable, single-use gloves made of natural rubber latex have been widely available since the early 1960s and are now both clinically and economically preferable to reusable gloves, even in resource-constrained settings [ 27 ] – though a surge in the incidence of latex allergies among both patients and health professionals has led to the widespread use of synthetic alternatives such as polyisoprene [ 28 ]. “Double gloving” – ie, wearing two pairs of gloves – is becoming increasingly common since a Cochrane review indicated that this practice can significantly reduce the risk of infection due to glove failure or puncture [ 29 ].…”

The risk of blood-borne infections in Poland – opportunities and threats to public health, nationwide qualitative research

“…Services in violation of issue continuity should be carried out with tools that eliminate the risk of the "weakest link" in most systems, i.e. human error There are also discussions about the appropriateness and safety of reusing disposable equipment [33,34]. In the medical services sector, ethical issues are considered beyond the economic question.…”