what are common times to run IV's in ?

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I am a new nurse working in a CCU/CVICU area and was wondering if some of you seasoned nurses can give me some input about how long certain IV's should go in such as calcium, potassium, mag, etc. I know a lot of this comes along with experience but these are the types of things i sit around and think about :confused:

Thanks, any input is appreciated!

Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.

Mag 2 gm/hour

K 20 mEq/hour on monitor, 10 mEq/hour otherwise

Ca++ I want to say 1-2 gm/hour...that's one I always have to look up because I don't give it as an infusion that often...mostly as a push in an emergent situation

FWIW, I'm on a Medical floor

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Specializes in Tele, LTC, Medsurg, Float.

A preceptor once told me that he had run K+ @60/ hour before. Anyone else heard of this?

60meq/hr?!? He wasn't working in a prison at that time was he?

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
A preceptor once told me that he had run K+ @60/ hour before. Anyone else heard of this?

60meq/hr?!? He wasn't working in a prison at that time was he?

Made me literally laugh out loud!

And got me thinking...how much is given to the prisoner receiving a lethal injection, and how fast is it pushed? I'm trying to find the answer right now.

Also, I did some researching on what my system says for max rates. Apparently 40mEq/hour is okay on any monitored patient in my hospital! Can't say I've ever seen it done, but like I said, I work on a medical floor.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Mg+ = 2gm/1 hour

K+ = 20 meq/1 hr

Ca+= Drips idk, I've given it IVP

These are for ICU/CCU and PCU tho idk about the floors at my hospital

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Specializes in Cardiac step-down.

I'm a new RN as well, and i often wonder about the same things :)

On my tele floor we do K over 10meq/hr (20 if central line) and 1gm Mag over 30 min, 2 over 1 hour.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
A preceptor once told me that he had run K+ @60/ hour before. Anyone else heard of this?

60meq/hr?!? He wasn't working in a prison at that time was he?

:hhmth:

SPIT ALERT! That's funny! My laptop is now coverd in Pepsi!!!!!

On the serious side......ALL drugs are governed by an individual facilities policy and procedure and you must follow that particular facilities policy and procedure unless indicated as malpractice ie: give 100meg KCL IV push..... that I would not give...but rule of thumb.

40meq of KCL/hr IV can be given over 1 hour through a central line due to burning on monitor ICU only

20meg KCL/hr IV may be peripheral but will still burn...on monitor

10meq KCL/hr IV general units

Magnesium can be given IVP in code situations....other wise Mg 1 gm/hr watch B/P some places require monitoring

Calcium Gluconate can be IVP or infusion watch QT and B/p

Calcium Chloride IVP used to be common in codes and still valid for calcium channel overdoses.

Here is an excellent online reference

http://www.globalrph.com/dilrs.htm :)

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We go by Gerhart's IV Infusion book for all iv meds.

Kcl 10 meq 1 hour peripherally

Kcl 20 meq 1 hr central line only.

Mag 2 gms 1 hr centrally

CA+cl (per our intensiveist) 2 amps (diluted in 50cc ns) over 10min on monitor

Sodium phos 15 milimol over 4 hrs, 30 milimols over 4-6hrs

**we now give zosyn (ABx) over 4 hrs. ANYONE ELSE?

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
**we now give zosyn (ABx) over 4 hrs. ANYONE ELSE?

Our Zosyn is given via syringe pump., usually over 30 minutes. Any reason why you run yours so slowly?

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DeLana, I guess there was s study done somewhere, that showed (don't quote me) better absorption, efficacy. We used to give over 1hr. Now its s pain, your holding up an iv line for 4 hrs.

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Specializes in Step-down ICU.
Our Zosyn is given via syringe pump., usually over 30 minutes. Any reason why you run yours so slowly?

We give Zosyn over 4 hrs at my hospital. Sometimes its over 30 min, but not so much anymore. One of the pharmacist told me that based on some research the antibx worked better over 4 hours versus 30 min.

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Specializes in GICU, PICU, CSICU, SICU.

In our hospital:

KCl/Kphos: 10 - 30 mEq/hour depending on K+ and heartrhythm. Always via a central line, if they have a peripheral they'll get substituted orally.

MgSO4: push during codes, 2 g in 10 minutes when it needs to be fast (mind BP and flushing in awake patients), 2g in 30 minutes when we have the time. Even slower rates in the pregnant and HELLP's etc.

CaCl2: 1g push during codes, 1g in 30 minutes when administered for other reasons. Always via a central line. And our pharmacy is cheap so we don't have Ca-gluconate in the ICU.

Gluc-phos: 6;6 mmol/hour.

NaCl: 3g in one hour combined with colloids for IC-hypertension.

Our meropenem and piperacillin/tazobactam antibiotics are run in over 3 hours especially when they have renal impairment. Cefepim is sometimes run in over 3 hours due to potential for toxic encefalopathy. Other antibiotics are nearly always run in over 1 hour.

But alway check the hospital recommendations first so you don't break any rules during your first months :)

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As far as the K issue goes, the other night during clinical I had a patient getting 30 mEq/hr in 1000 ml of LR through one of the ports in his central line. He was on telemetry monitoring, and I checked his potassium level regularly. I have seen 20 to 25 mEq/hr in 1000 ml of an IV fluid given through a peripheral line at this facility.

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