Help with Pedi Med Calculation Problem, please!

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi there,

I'm doing my OB/Pedi rotation this summer and I'm lost when it comes to when to use a volume control chamber versus a syringe pump. I have to do a problem and I thought that I would just include it here so it's more clear for anyone who can help me:

3 month old infant with a UTI, is due to receive her dose of Ampicillin. The doctor's order reads: Ampicillin 150 mg IV q6hr. The calculated dilution is 5 mls and the recommended infusion time is 15-30 minutes.

Which IV med administration route would you use: volume control chamber or syringe pump?

What is your rationale?

Can ANYONE help me out here?!

I'd REALLY appreciate it.. thanks

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

You want to use a syringe pump. Why? Because when you reconstitute the medication you are going to have a very small amount of solution. Too small to put into a volumn control chamber. It will be easier to pull the desired dose into a syringe, pop the syringe into a syringe pump and piggyback it into the main IV line. Let the syringe pump deliver the dose over whatever minutes you chose. This is what syringe pumps are designed for. They deliver extremely accurately. Also, you are dealing with a pediatric patient and want to use smaller amounts of fluid anyway.

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Thanks so much. It makes more sense to me now.

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