Non-sterile gloves are just as effective in preventing surgical site infections as gold standard sterile gloves at only a fraction of the cost, doctors report.

Their meta-analysis suggests there is no significant difference in rates of surgical site infections (SSIs) when doctors repaired lacerations and wounds using sterile or non-sterile gloves.

“While sterile gloves are widely accepted as the optimal choice for surgical procedures, our analysis emphasises the need to assess their necessity in simple wound repair,” the Palestinian doctors wrote in JAMA Surgery.

The Al-Quds University-led team first compared infection rates for minor surgical procedures performed in the ED or outpatient settings in nearly 3000 patients across four clinical trials.