Is hand hygiene before putting on nonsterile gloves in the intensive care unit a waste of health care worker time? A randomized controlled trial.
This randomized controlled trial found no significant difference in the amount of bacteria found on nonsterile gloves of health care workers who performed hand hygiene prior to donning the gloves compared with those who did not. This finding implies that washing hands before putting on nonsterile gloves is an unnecessary—and possibly time-wasting—practice, despite recommendations to do so by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.