A 110lb woman is started on a nitroglycerin IV drip. The order is to administer the Nitro at mcg/min. The pharmacy sends a 250 ml IV container with 25 mg of nitro added to the container. What is the flow rate in ml/hr that the IV should run?
how many mcg/min?
And is that micro or milli grams?
mg = milli
ug = micro
To calculate the flow rate in ml/hr, you will need to convert the dosage from mcg/min to mg/hr. Then, you can calculate the flow rate based on the dosage and volume of the IV container.
First, convert 110 lbs to kg:
110 lbs * (1 kg / 2.2046 lbs) = 49.895 kg (rounded to 3 decimal places)
Next, calculate the dosage in mg/hr:
Since the order is to administer Nitro at mcg/min, we need to convert it to mg/hr.
mcg to mg: divide by 1000
min to hr: multiply by 60
Let's say the dosage is x mcg/min. Then:
x mcg/min * (1 mg / 1000 mcg) * (60 min / 1 hr) = x / 1000 * 60 mg/hr = 60x / 1000 mg/hr = 0.06x mg/hr
Now, let's calculate the flow rate in ml/hr:
We know that the IV container has a volume of 250 ml and contains 25 mg of nitro. Therefore, the concentration of the nitro solution in the container is:
25 mg / 250 ml = 0.1 mg/ml
To find the flow rate in ml/hr, divide the dosage (in mg/hr) by the concentration (mg/ml):
Flow rate (ml/hr) = Dosage (mg/hr) / Concentration (mg/ml)
Flow rate (ml/hr) = (0.06x mg/hr) / (0.1 mg/ml) = 0.6x ml/hr
Therefore, the flow rate in ml/hr that the IV should run is 0.6x ml/hr.