Donning Sterile Surgical Gloves - A Prospective Clinical Audit of Young Surgeons at a Tertiary Care Hospital of Lahore, Pakistan

Background Sterilization and aseptic surgical techniques are the most important keys to successful postoperative outcomes. The standard surgical gloving technique causes early wound healing and reduces morbidity and mortality. Objective To assess the standard technique of donning sterile surgical gloves while scrubbing among young surgeons. Material and Methods This two-week prospective audit involved 60 young residents and house officers after ensuring ethical implications. Participants were observed unannounced for donning sterile surgical gloves in the surgical operation theatre (OT) according to the standard criteria set by World Health Organization (WHO) before and after the relevant intervention. The intervention was made through a clinical lecture, live demonstration, and hands-on sessions. After a detailed literature study, a pro forma was generated to record participants' compliance with 14 steps of donning sterile surgical gloves. Data was sent to a statistician for descriptive analysis. Results About 72.14% of the participants followed the standard criteria of donning sterile surgical gloves before intervention. This percentage raised to 90.71% after the intervention, showing marked improvement. Conclusion Pre-intervention and post-intervention observations showed apparent differences in compliance rates for the standard criteria of donning sterile surgical gloves. This scientific study signifies the need for such clinical audits to boost standard surgical practices, especially among newcomers.