IV Cutoff Mechanism for Low Resource Settings

Abstract

Intravenous (IV) fluid regulation is necessary in developing nations to prevent IV-overhydration in the pediatric patients of low-resource hospitals. Traditionally, regulation is achieved by calculating the total fluid outflow from an IV bag and restricting flow before the patient is injected with dangerous levels of fluid. However, standard fluid regulation devices include infusion pumps and burettes, which are costly and often ill-suited for low-resource environments. This research proposes a low-cost, easy to use device that regulates the volume of intravenous (IV) fluid delivered to a patient in a low-resource clinical setting. Laboratory accuracy tests (N = 32) over a range of clinically-relevant fluid volumes yielded a median and max error of 4 and 8mL respectively, falling within specific error thresholds (p < le-5). Non-clinical usability tests (N = 25) showed median and max device setup times to be 40 and 55 seconds respectively (p < le-5). Additionally, all participants found the device “easy to use” and were able to set up and use the device with less than 20 minutes of training.