A healthcare provider prescribes an intravenous infusion of dopamine for a client diagnose… — NCLEX-RN

A healthcare provider prescribes an intravenous infusion of dopamine for a client diagnosed with cardiogenic shock. The prescribed dose is $10 \text{ mcg/kg/min}$ . The client weighs $176 \text{ lb}$ . The pharmacy dispenses a pre-mixed bag containing $800 \text{ mg}$ of dopamine in $250 \text{ mL}$ of $5\%$ dextrose in water. The nurse should set the intravenous infusion pump to deliver how many mL/hr? (Record your answer as a whole number).

Answer: 15 mL/hr

Answer

To safely administer a weight-based continuous intravenous infusion, precise unit conversions for weight (pounds to kilograms), time (minutes to hours), and drug mass (micrograms to milligrams) are necessary. By calculating the hourly required dose (

48 \text{ mg/hr}

) and dividing it by the concentration of the dispensed fluid (

3.2 \text{ mg/mL}

), the correct and safe infusion rate is determined to be

15 \text{ mL/hr}

Step-by-Step Solution

Convert the client's weight from pounds to kilograms.

176 \text{ lb} \div 2.2 = 80 \text{ kg}

Weight-based medication dosing requires the client's weight to be precisely measured in kilograms.

Calculate the total dose required per minute.

80 \text{ kg} \times 10 \text{ mcg/kg/min} = 800 \text{ mcg/min}

This establishes the specific therapeutic dose required for this individual client.

Convert the dose from per-minute to per-hour.

800 \text{ mcg/min} \times 60 \text{ min/hr} = 48,000 \text{ mcg/hr}

Standard intravenous infusion pumps are programmed in mL per hour, requiring an hourly drug rate.

Convert the required hourly dose from micrograms to milligrams.

48,000 \text{ mcg/hr} \div 1,000 \text{ mcg/mg} = 48 \text{ mg/hr}

The dispensed medication concentration is provided in milligrams; units must match before final calculation.

Determine the concentration of the dispensed medication.

800 \text{ mg} \div 250 \text{ mL} = 3.2 \text{ mg/mL}

Determining the concentration (mg per single mL) simplifies the calculation of the final fluid volume.

Calculate the final infusion rate.

48 \text{ mg/hr} \div 3.2 \text{ mg/mL} = 15 \text{ mL/hr}

This yields the exact fluid volume the pump must deliver each hour to administer the prescribed medication dose.

Key Concept

Weight-based Intravenous Medication Calculations

Question

Answer

Step-by-Step Solution

Key Concept

Common Mistakes

Topics

More questions from this topic