Perforation rates in double latex gloves and protective effects of outer work gloves in a postmortem examination room: A STROBE-compliant study.

Medical staff face the risk of exposure to blood-borne infectious agents during postmortem examinations. This study investigated the effectiveness of non-slip work gloves worn over 2 layers of surgical latex gloves (outer and inner gloves) as a means of reducing hand and finger injuries. Complete sets of outer and inner gloves worn during postmortem examinations were collected from participating forensic staff. Latex gloves were categorized into 2 groups based on the users' actions during the examination: the wearing group if the wearer wore their work gloves continuously without interruption, and the taking-off group if the wearer removed them at least once. Perforation rates, locations, and shapes were compared between these groups. Outer-glove perforation occurred significantly more often in the taking-off group (n = 102 pairs) than in the wearing group (n = 91 pairs) (30.4% vs 3.8%, P < .001). Inner-glove perforation occurred at rates of 2.0% and 0.5% (P = .38), respectively. The wearers did not incur hand or finger injuries. Perforation rates were similar between the dominant and non-dominant hands (P = .18). Regarding location, gloves were punctured most frequently at the thumb, followed by the index finger. Most examiners (85.6%) did not notice the perforation when the damage occurred. Therefore, we could not confirm that a specific operation within a set of plural operations affected the rate of perforation. Additionally, we could not prove a relationship between glove perforation and each operation performed with/without work gloves. The perforation appearances varied greatly in shape and size, suggesting multiple causes of perforation. The continuous (i.e., uninterrupted) wear of work gloves during postmortem examinations reduced the incidence of perforations in both latex glove layers and thus reduced the risk of hand and finger injury.

The genome profiling method can be applied for species identification of biological materials collected at crime scenes.

BACKGROUND: Various biological materials unrelated to humans are found at crime scenes and it is often important to elucidate the origin of these materials. A genetic locus common to several species is conventionally PCR-amplified with universal primers to identify species. However, not all species can be identified using a single locus. In this study, DNA from 13 commonly handled taxa was analyzed to identify species by a genome profiling (GP) method, which involves random PCR and temperature gradient gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: In a clustering analysis, we successfully obtained a single cluster for each species. CONCLUSION: The GP method is cost-effective and does not require advanced techniques and knowledge in molecular biology. The random sampling of the whole genome using multiple primers provides substantial genomic information. Therefore, the method is effective for classifying a wide range of species, including animals, plants, and insects, and is useful for crime scene investigations.