Introduction

The outbreak of coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, has rapidly developed into a worldwide health crisis [1]. According to the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) (7th September 2020) [2], there have been 26, 961, 795 confirmed cases and 880,955 confirmed deaths worldwide.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is mainly spread through respiratory droplets and contact [1]. Therefore, the disinfection of objects and handwashing are essential to stop viral spread [3]. Studies have also shown the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva and faeces of infected patients [4,5].

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In this pandemic situation, the greatest risk is transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to healthcare workers (HCWs) from direct contact with infected patients [6]. HCWs may have to perform multiple tasks on an infected patient, and must be aware of the appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as the proper use and removal of gloves [1,7]. Regarding the proper use of gloves, it is important to remove them after a single use and avoid inappropriate use [8]. However, there are several clinical situations in which HCWs use gloves routinely to carry out various procedures on the same patient [9]. In order for HCWs to comply with international standards, gloves would have to be removed often, hands disinfected and a new pair of gloves used to carry out subsequent activities with the same patient [10]. This may not be realistic, particularly in times of material shortage and crisis, such as the current pandemic situation.

Faced with this situation, glove disinfection may be a viable alternative [9], as stated by the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention at the Robert Koch Institute, Berlin [11]. According to the Commission, faced with the additional workload generated by COVID-19, gloves can be used for multiple procedures on the same patient if they are disinfected properly between each procedure.

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Glove disinfection is not only useful for re-use for the same patient, but can also be considered as part of the process of removing PPE. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recommend disinfecting gloves that have been used as part of PPE before removing the equipment in healthcare settings for the care of patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 due to the high risk of self-contamination [12,13]. For this reason, HCWs must be trained in the proper use of PPE according to hospital guidelines, including techniques to safely remove equipment that protects mucous membranes [7].

One important aspect to consider is that, prior to glove disinfection, it is necessary to check the compatibility of the glove with the disinfectant [9]. Two studies have analysed the integrity of glove material after repeated applications of disinfectant products [14,15]. Specifically, these studies found that tensile strength decreased with each alcohol-based hand rub, and combinations have relevant differences in the efficacy of disinfection. Further studies are required to clarify if the differences between the various disinfection products used are sufficient to exclude certain disinfectant solutions from glove decontamination activities in clinical settings [15]. As such, the objective of this study was to test the resistance of nitrile gloves to different disinfectant solutions.

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