Impact of Changing Sterile Glove at the Time of Wound Closure to Reduce Surgical Site Infection in Women Undergoing Elective Cesarean Section; a Prospective Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Objective: Surgical site infections (SSIs) among surgical patients are the most common nosocomial infection, accounting for 38 percent. It is estimated that SSIs develop in 2 to 5 percent of the more than 30 million patients undergoing surgical procedures each year. We aimed to assess the impact of changing sterile gloves at the time of wound closure to reduce SSI in women undergoing elective cesarean section (CS). Patients and Methods: The study was done from February 2023 to July 2023 at Ain Shams University Hospital. 220 Women were randomly distributed and blindly allocated into two groups. Group A (operative glove changing group “n=110”), Group B (usual care group “n=110”). Postoperative febrile morbidity, cellulitis, need for antibiotics for skin- or wound-related infection, and endometritis were compared between study groups. Results: Postoperative wound complications were statistically significantly higher among cases not subject to a change of sterile gloves, 28.0% vs. 9.8%. On the other hand, no differences were noted between study groups regarding operative duration 61.39 ± 7.76 vs. 59.35 ± 8.11 minutes. Conclusion: Changing sterile gloves at the time of wound closure reduces surgical site infection and associated morbidity in women undergoing elective CS.