Andrew weighs 45 lbs and requires insulin. His doctor has prescribed 0.150 units of insulin/kg body weight/hr while he is in the hospital. The insulin bottle you have possesses a concentration of 20.0 units/15.0 ml and all must be given. Give all answers to three sig figs.
a. How many mL/hr will you need to set the IV pump?
b. How long will it take, in hours, at the above rate for the above insulin bottle to be administered?
c. Your shift is 8 hours long. Will you need to change insulin bottles before your shift ends assuming you started the IV at the beginning of your shift? Yes or no?
To find the answers to these questions, we will follow a step-by-step approach.
a. First, let's calculate Andrew's weight in kg. We know that 1 pound is approximately 0.4536 kg. So, Andrew's weight in kg is:
45 lbs * 0.4536 kg/lb = 20.4112 kg
Next, we can calculate the amount of insulin needed per hour. The doctor prescribed 0.150 units of insulin per kg of body weight per hour. Therefore:
0.150 units/kg/hr * 20.4112 kg = 3.0617 units/hr
Now, we can calculate the volume of insulin needed per hour. The concentration of the insulin bottle is 20.0 units per 15.0 ml. Therefore:
3.0617 units/hr * (15.0 ml/20.0 units) = 2.2963 ml/hr
So, you will need to set the IV pump to deliver 2.2963 mL/hr.
b. To calculate the time it will take to administer the entire insulin bottle, we need to divide the total volume of the bottle by the rate at which it is being administered. The volume of the insulin bottle is 15.0 mL. Therefore:
15.0 mL / 2.2963 mL/hr = 6.5242 hours
It will take approximately 6.5242 hours to administer the entire insulin bottle.
c. If your shift is 8 hours long, you will need to check if the time it takes to administer the insulin bottle is less than your shift duration. In this case, 6.5242 hours is less than 8 hours. Therefore, you will not need to change insulin bottles before your shift ends.
So, the answers are:
a. 2.296 mL/hr
b. 6.524 hours
c. No