The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Do clinical examination gloves provide adequate electrical insulation for safe hands-on defibrillation? I: Resistive properties of nitrile gloves

Do clinical examination gloves provide adequate electrical insulation for safe hands-on defibrillation? I: Resistive properties of nitrile gloves
Do clinical examination gloves provide adequate electrical insulation for safe hands-on defibrillation? I: Resistive properties of nitrile gloves
Introduction

Uninterrupted chest compressions are a key factor in determining resuscitation success. Interruptions to chest compression are often associated with defibrillation, particularly the need to stand clear from the patient during defibrillation. It has been suggested that clinical examination gloves may provide adequate electrical resistance to enable safe hands-on defibrillation in order to minimise interruptions. We therefore examined whether commonly used nitrile clinical examination gloves provide adequate resistance to current flow to enable safe hands-on defibrillation.

Methods

Clinical examination gloves (Kimberly Clark KC300 Sterling nitrile) worn by members of hospital cardiac arrest teams were collected immediately following termination of resuscitation. To determine the level of protection afforded by visually intact gloves, electrical resistance across the glove was measured by applying a DC voltage across the glove and measuring subsequent resistance.

Results

Forty new unused gloves (control) were compared with 28 clinical (non-CPR) gloves and 128 clinical (CPR) gloves. One glove in each group had a visible tear and was excluded from analysis. Control gloves had a minimum resistance of 120 k? (median 190 k?) compared with 60 k? in clinical gloves (both CPR (median 140 k?) and non-CPR groups (median 160 k?)).

Discussion

Nitrile clinical examination gloves do not provide adequate electrical insulation for the rescuer to safely undertake ‘hands-on’ defibrillation and when exposed to the physical forces of external chest compression, even greater resistive degradation occurs. Further work is required to identify gloves suitable for safe use for ‘hands-on’ defibrillation.
defibrillation, safety, external chest compression, glove, current, voltage
0300-9572
895-899
Deakin, Charles D.
560d993b-bbc9-4548-9990-272ed18a011d
Lee-Shrewsbury, Victoria
d9237145-7a27-4ca8-b436-0273d6a4f4e1
Hogg, Kitwani
85989bcb-38ab-4c33-bb7f-6120789117a1
Petley, Graham W.
4f2da40b-3c7b-4adc-b75c-e24e62bb1cf0
Deakin, Charles D.
560d993b-bbc9-4548-9990-272ed18a011d
Lee-Shrewsbury, Victoria
d9237145-7a27-4ca8-b436-0273d6a4f4e1
Hogg, Kitwani
85989bcb-38ab-4c33-bb7f-6120789117a1
Petley, Graham W.
4f2da40b-3c7b-4adc-b75c-e24e62bb1cf0

Deakin, Charles D., Lee-Shrewsbury, Victoria, Hogg, Kitwani and Petley, Graham W. (2013) Do clinical examination gloves provide adequate electrical insulation for safe hands-on defibrillation? I: Resistive properties of nitrile gloves. Resuscitation, 84 (7), 895-899. (doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2013.03.011). (PMID:23507464)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Introduction

Uninterrupted chest compressions are a key factor in determining resuscitation success. Interruptions to chest compression are often associated with defibrillation, particularly the need to stand clear from the patient during defibrillation. It has been suggested that clinical examination gloves may provide adequate electrical resistance to enable safe hands-on defibrillation in order to minimise interruptions. We therefore examined whether commonly used nitrile clinical examination gloves provide adequate resistance to current flow to enable safe hands-on defibrillation.

Methods

Clinical examination gloves (Kimberly Clark KC300 Sterling nitrile) worn by members of hospital cardiac arrest teams were collected immediately following termination of resuscitation. To determine the level of protection afforded by visually intact gloves, electrical resistance across the glove was measured by applying a DC voltage across the glove and measuring subsequent resistance.

Results

Forty new unused gloves (control) were compared with 28 clinical (non-CPR) gloves and 128 clinical (CPR) gloves. One glove in each group had a visible tear and was excluded from analysis. Control gloves had a minimum resistance of 120 k? (median 190 k?) compared with 60 k? in clinical gloves (both CPR (median 140 k?) and non-CPR groups (median 160 k?)).

Discussion

Nitrile clinical examination gloves do not provide adequate electrical insulation for the rescuer to safely undertake ‘hands-on’ defibrillation and when exposed to the physical forces of external chest compression, even greater resistive degradation occurs. Further work is required to identify gloves suitable for safe use for ‘hands-on’ defibrillation.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 2 March 2013
e-pub ahead of print date: 16 March 2013
Published date: July 2013
Keywords: defibrillation, safety, external chest compression, glove, current, voltage
Organisations: Faculty of Health Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 383361
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/383361
ISSN: 0300-9572
PURE UUID: b44b5756-6eac-4996-a4d0-8c9c45abbb0c
ORCID for Graham W. Petley: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3295-0444

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 27 Oct 2015 14:46
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:53

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Victoria Lee-Shrewsbury
Author: Kitwani Hogg

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×