Improving Intravenous Drip Control in Ghanaian Hospitals and Clinics

Abstract

Despite the centrality of IV infusions in patient treatment, many low- and mid-resource healthcare settings around the world, such as at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana, do not have the sophisticated equipment necessary to provide accurately-measured IV infusions, even over the course of a single IV administration period. The most common apparatus to set the drip rate of IV fluids at KATH is the plastic roller clamp. While simple to manufacture and use, the roller clamp is imperfect because it tends not to keep drip rates constant over time. Current cost-effective alternatives on the market require proprietary tubing and would not be suitable for the needs of hospitals that have established the use of other tubing. This Honors Capstone project was an outgrowth of a long-term design project through M-HEAL Team Flow. Whereas Team Flow’s scope is to develop an IV drip rate monitoring and controlling solution for hospitals and clinics in Ghana, this project focused on somehow improving the current roller clamp technology. Design requirements and specifications for this project included lessening the need for nurses to adjust drip rates mid-administration, rapid implementation, and feasibility for use in low-resource settings. Specifications were informed based on conversations with Team Flow’s community partner, Mr. Emmanuel Acheampong, who is an emergency nurse at KATH, and records from the 2019 GHDI trip to Ghana. Ease of use results showed that a Velcro tie solution was generally able to be implemented in under 10 seconds by users, with times improving for each individual the more times they performed the action. Most importantly, the drip rate testing results showed that both of two different Velcro solutions were able to significantly decrease drip rate changes when compared to the control, although there was not much difference between the two solutions themselves. Additionally, the drip rate changes over a 30 minute IV administration period were, on average, under 10% for both of the treatment groups. As a consequence, both Velcro solutions met outlined design requirements.