Enhancing IV Cannulation Documentation in a Resource-Limited Setting: A Quality Improvement Project From Dongola...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Patient Safety
• Medical Documentation Standards

Background:

• Incomplete documentation of intravenous (IV) cannulation poses a significant challenge in healthcare settings.
• This deficiency can lead to fragmented patient care and an increased risk of complications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the completeness of IV cannula documentation at Dongola Specialized Hospital.
• To implement and evaluate a standardized documentation sticker and staff training intervention.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, two-cycle audit using the Plan-Do-Study-Act framework was conducted.
• Fifty inpatient records from the Internal Medicine Department were reviewed per cycle.
• Documentation compliance was assessed against international standards before and after intervention.

Main Results:

• Baseline documentation compliance was critically low (≤2% for most parameters).
• Post-intervention, significant improvements were observed: cannula gauge (2% to 100%), indication (2% to 96%), aseptic technique (2% to 86%), and inserter's name (2% to 92%).
• Documentation of removal details and Visual Infusion Phlebitis (VIP) scoring also showed marked improvement (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• A structured, low-cost IV cannula documentation sticker combined with staff education significantly improves documentation quality.
• This intervention is a simple, sustainable method to enhance patient safety and procedural accountability, particularly in resource-limited settings.