A healthcare provider prescribes a continuous intravenous (IV) infusion of aminophylline at a rate of for a client experiencing a severe exacerbation of asthma. The client weighs . The pharmacy supplies an IV bag containing aminophylline in of . At what rate, in , should the nurse set the IV infusion pump? Record your answer rounding to the nearest tenth.
Answer: 18.8 mL/hr
Answer
The correct infusion rate is .
To determine the correct IV pump setting, the nurse must first calculate the total hourly dose based on the client's weight (). Next, the nurse divides this required hourly dose by the concentration of the medication provided by the pharmacy (). The resulting calculation () is then rounded to the nearest tenth as instructed, resulting in a final programmed pump setting of .
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Calculating weight-based continuous IV infusion rates