A healthcare provider prescribes a continuous intravenous heparin infusion for a client di… — NCLEX-RN

A healthcare provider prescribes a continuous intravenous heparin infusion for a client diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis. The client weighs $92\text{ kg}$ . The facility's weight-based heparin protocol requires an initial infusion rate of $18\text{ units/kg/hr}$ . The pharmacy dispenses a premixed intravenous bag containing $25,000\text{ units}$ of heparin in $250\text{ mL}$ of $5\%\text{ Dextrose in Water}$ . At what rate, in $\text{mL/hr}$ , should the infusion pump be programmed? Record your answer using one decimal place.

Answer: 16.6 mL/hr

Answer

16.6

The correct infusion rate is calculated by first determining the hourly weight-based dose (

92\text{ kg} \times 18\text{ units/kg/hr} = 1656\text{ units/hr}

). This dose is then divided by the concentration of the heparin solution (

100\text{ units/mL}

) to yield

16.56\text{ mL/hr}

. Rounding to one decimal place gives

16.6\text{ mL/hr}

Step-by-Step Solution

Calculate the total required hourly dose of heparin.

1656\text{ units/hr}

The prescribed rate is weight-based (

18\text{ units/kg/hr}

), so it must be multiplied by the client's total body weight (

92\text{ kg}

Determine the concentration of the intravenous heparin bag.

100\text{ units/mL}

To convert the hourly dose from units to milliliters, the concentration of the available solution (

25,000\text{ units} \div 250\text{ mL}

) must be calculated.

Calculate the infusion pump rate.

16.56\text{ mL/hr}

Dividing the required hourly dose (

1656\text{ units/hr}

) by the solution concentration (

100\text{ units/mL}

) yields the volume to be infused per hour.

Round to the nearest tenth.

16.6

The question specifically asks to record the answer using one decimal place.

Key Concept

Weight-based intravenous medication dosage calculation and pump rate programming.

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