Does use of sterile gloves by providers during labor and delivery decrease maternal or neonatal morbidity compared with nonsterile gloves?

Abstract

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER 

The answer is uncertain. In laboring patients with intact amniotic membranes, the use of sterile gloves (vs nonsterile gloves) is not associated with improved maternal or neonatal morbidity (SOR: B, single retrospective cohort study). No prospective studies have evaluated the use of sterile versus nonsterile gloves for routine delivery, but low-risk skin procedures show no difference in infection risk with nonsterile gloves (SOR: C, extrapolated from a prospective randomized trial). Bacterial counts on clean nonsterile gloves do not reach a minimum concentration required to cause infection for low-risk procedures (SOR: C, observational cohort with disease-oriented outcome).