Skip to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.
allnurses

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.
Discussion

Dosage Calculation Help

Hello! I would like some help regarding these dosage calculations if you all don't mind showing me how to do it? 

1. A patient with cirrhosis is admitted for variceal bleeding. The gastroenterologist ordered ocreotide acetate 50 IV mcg bolus then start a continuous infusion of 25 mcg/hr. The pharmacy send a premixed bag of ocreotide acetate 600 mcg in 250 ml of sterile solution of dextrose 5%. What is the continuous IV infusion rate of the medication using an IV pump? _______ml/hr. Round to the whole number.

2. A patient had runs of wide QRS tachycardia with a pulse rate of 170/min. The ER doctor ordered procainamide 20 mg IVP STAT and a conitnuous infusion of 2 mg/min. The supply on hand is procainamide 1 g/250 ml D5W. Calculate the flow rate of the continuous infusion of procainamide with use of infusion pump. _____ml/hr.

3. Patient is on septic shock with BP of 68/32 despite infusion of 2 liters of lactated ringers IV infusion. The nurse is getting ready to start norepinephrine bitartrate at 4 mcg/min. The pharmacy sends a bag of norepinephrine 8 mg in 250 ml of D5W. Calculate the flow rate the nurse has to set up the infusion pump __ml/h.Round the answer to the nearest first decimal place.

The bolus and continuous flow rate made me confused and I've been trying to solve it for the past hour or so. 

  • Quote

    • Featured Replies

    • Author

    I thought I could edit but I guess I couldn't... anyway, I think I figured it out! My brother who's also in the program with me said to exclude the bolus information because it throws you off so I got the answer for all of them. I'm just not sure if it's right though. What I did was just take the continuous infusion and the supply that it gave me and worked it out from there. 

  • Quote

    Why don't you start by showing us what you've already done?  This better allows us to see how you've set up the problem and where you're having difficulty.

    ETA: Your brother is correct that some of these problems are going to contain a lot of information, not all of which is necessary for what you are being asked to determine.  In your 3 scenarios, the bolus information isn't required for what you are being asked to solve.

    And, you are correct.  What you need to solve the infusion rate are the ordered dose (norepinephrine at 4 mcg/min) and the concentration (norepinephrine 8 mg in 250 ml).

    Best wishes.

  • Quote
    • Author
    18 hours ago, chare said:

    Why don't you start by showing us what you've already done?  This better allows us to see how you've set up the problem and where you're having difficulty.

    ETA: Your brother is correct that some of these problems are going to contain a lot of information, not all of which is necessary for what you are being asked to determine.  In your 3 scenarios, the bolus information isn't required for what you are being asked to solve.

    And, you are correct.  What you need to solve the infusion rate are the ordered dose (norepinephrine at 4 mcg/min) and the concentration (norepinephrine 8 mg in 250 ml).

    Best wishes.

    Thank you for responding! I don't know how to explain how I did it.. however, I did dimensional analysis for those 3 questions and got: 

    1. 10 mL/hr

    2. 30 mL/hr 

    3. 7.5 mL/hr 

  • Quote
    1 hour ago, nursing_potato said:

    Thank you for responding! I don't know how to explain how I did it.. however, I did dimensional analysis for those 3 questions and got: 

    [...]

    Your answers are correct.  However, you need to be able to explain, and show your work.  You are using dimensional analysis, and in my opinion that is the best method to use, particularly with complex problems.

    I don't know which text you are using, but you might find some of the resources in this thread helpful.

    Again, best wishes.

  • Quote
    • Author
    2 hours ago, chare said:

    Your answers are correct.  However, you need to be able to explain, and show your work.  You are using dimensional analysis, and in my opinion that is the best method to use, particularly with complex problems.

    I don't know which text you are using, but you might find some of the resources in this thread helpful.

    Again, best wishes.

    Ah that's very helpful thank you! Also, I do show my work but I'm more of a visual learner than explaining how I did it all in text if that makes sense? 

    Thank you for confirming that my answers were correct! ? 

  • Quote

    • Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

    Guest
    Add a Comment
    Go to topic listing

    Currently Reading 0

    • No registered users viewing this page.

    Account

    Navigation

    Search

    Search

    Configure browser push notifications
    Chrome (Android)
    1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
    2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
    3. Adjust your preference.
    Chrome (Desktop)
    1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
    2. Select Site settings.
    3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.