Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gloves are recommended as a safe alternative for patients with rubber accelerator allergy. However, allergic contact dermatitis to other chemicals in PVC gloves has been reported.
Objective:
To analyze single-use PVC medical examination gloves in the United States for the presence of potential contact allergens.
Methods:
Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, 20 unique PVC gloves were analyzed in triplicate for 6 chemicals: benzisothiazolinone, bisphenol A, mono(2-ethylhexyl) maleate, tricresyl phosphate, triphenyl phosphate, and triphenyl phosphite.
Results:
All 20 PVC gloves contained detectable quantities of benzisothiazolinone (range, 0.001–1.48 parts per million [ppm]), bisphenol A (0.01–0.11 ppm), triphenyl phosphate (0.01–2.11 ppm), and triphenyl phosphite (0.001–0.22 ppm). Eighteen (90%) gloves contained mono(2-ethylhexyl) maleate (0.001–0.14 ppm) and 3 (15%) contained tricresyl phosphate (0.001–0.002 ppm).
Conclusions:
Known allergens were present in all 20 PVC gloves. However, the detected levels were mostly low and their relationship with sensitization and elicitation thresholds requires further study.
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