Starch, gloves and extradural catheters

We have investigated contamination of extradural catheters during normalhandling with starch powdered gloves. In the laboratory, extraduralcatheters were handled in sterile fields with both powdered andnon-powdered gloves, simulating preparation for patient insertion. Thecatheters together with glove samples were then examined using a Zeiss 940scanning electron microscope. Microscopy of samples revealed starchcontamination of the catheters handled with powdered gloves, especially inthe side hole areas. We conclude that extradural catheters may becontaminated easily by starch powder from surgical gloves. This powder maythen be deposited into the extradural space. The effect of starch in theextradural space is not known but starch is known to cause inflammatory andgranulomatous reactions in other parts of the body as well as beingdirectly allergenic. Powder contamination of catheters may be avoidedeasily by the use of powder-free gloves and we feel that these should beused whenever possible.