Preliminary analysis of a randomized controlled trial suggests that changing gloves before closing the abdominal wall during C-sections may lower the incidence of wound complications.
Researchers presented preliminary findings from the trial at the 2017 Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting, May 6 to May 9, in San Diego.
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The trial included 554 female patients undergoing non-emergent C-sections. The women were divided randomly into two groups — one in which surgeons changed their gloves prior to abdominal closure and another where the surgeons did not change gloves, also known as the control group.
For the study, researchers defined wound complications as the occurrence of seroma, hematoma, wound infection, skin separation of at least 1 cm, or other incisional separation or abnormality requiring a bedside procedure.
Of the first 409 patients analyzed, 5.9 percent of the glove-changing group experienced wound complications as compared to 12.9 percent of the control group.