Drips

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Specializes in Tele.

I just started working on a progressive care unit and want to know if anyone has a good link, resource, study guide or cheat sheet on drips - cardizem, amiodrione, heparin, etc? I ultimately would love an Excel spreadsheet with all the info on it so I could keep it with me at work. If not, I'll eventually make my own.

I've tried to search through my hospital policies but have not be able to find any guidence for titration, VS frequency, etc.

Thanks for your help! I'm sure I'll get a lot of great tips! :up:

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Specializes in CVICU.

You'll have to be more specific about what you would want on this spreadsheet. It could end up being a pretty lengthy document. Just find a good drug reference that sums up what you need to know about a certain gtt, and review it before your shift starts. You'll have it down before too long.

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The info will vary from instituation to institution and the doseages will also vary depending on how your unit runs drips (mcg/kg/min or mcg/min) here are ranges for some common gtts off the top of my head on my unit

Epinepherine 0.01-0.1 mcg/kg/min

Norepinepherine 0.01-0.2 mcg/kg/min

Vasopressin 0.01-0.04 units/min

Phenylepherine 0.01-1.0 mcg/kg/min

Milrinone 0.25-0.75 mcg/kg/min

Dobutamine 1-20 mcg/kg/min

Dopamine 0.5-20 mcg/kg/min

Esmolol 50-300 mcg/kg/min

Diltiazem 5-15 mcg/kg/min

Nitroglycerine 0.5-5 mcg/kg/min

Nitroprusside 0.5-5 mcg/kg/min

Amiodarone 150mg bolus followed by 1 mcg/min for 6hrs then .5 mcg/min

cisatracurium sp? 0.03-0.1 mcg/kg/min

Heparin usually has a nomogram or at my discretion while I'm running ECMO

Fentanyl 25-effect mcg/hr

Ativan .5-effect mg/hr

Propofol 5-100 mcg/kg/hr

Insulin 1-?? units/hr

There are more but the ones I've listed will probably cover you close to 90% of the time. Again each institution will be different. Also more important than doseages is knowing what the drugs actually do physiologically and how to titrate them in conjunction with one another. This takes experience but if you know how the drugs are actually acting on your Pt. it will be easier for you.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Tele.

Thanks for the posts. Any info on titration would be helpful too. As an example, we had a pt on cardizem 10mg/hr and my preceptor changed it to 5mg/hr then off. I realized some drips you only titrated 1-2 mg or mcg at a time and then need to monitor VS q15min, etc. Any guidence or generalized parameters would be great.

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Specializes in floor to ICU.

Sorry, I am not going to be much help. I have a hand-me-down copied paper in spreadsheet form that one of my preceptors gave me. She got it from her last hospital. It has info about initial dose, titrating, max dose, action, side effects, etc of many of the ICU drugs we use. It is very helpful. Sorry, I am too 'old school' and technologically inept to get it physically from my hands to the computer and to you!

I'm going to pay attention and see what kind of response you get. So far, all the drug info on my over-copied paper is current but it would be nice to have another source.

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Specializes in Tele.

Sounds like what I'm looking for. too bad it's not electronic.

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Specializes in CCRN.

Love my Tarascon Pharmecopeia pocket giude. Small, fits in my pocket and has all the info I need. I also have the Critical Care pocket guide. I must say these are my FAVES, and I do tend to buy lots of reference guides :)

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

Typically, cardizem doesn't need to be titrated. It either works at 5, 10, or 15 but maybe pt needs cardioverted at 15 if not too late. Not sure why but it only goes in 5mcg increments. Amio is not titratable. Heparin follows your hosp's nomogram. Insulin gtt's are more annoying than anything so hopefully you have a line you can draw you CBG's from.

When I worked step-down, we didn't do too much titratables. If you want all that action you better move to ICU baby!!!! You'll get more than you hoped for!!

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Specializes in floor to ICU.
Sounds like what I'm looking for. too bad it's not electronic.

I sent you a private message.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
I sent you a private message.

If you found some way to make an electronic copy I am interested, too.

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Is there a quick way to knowif the dose I administer is therapeutic? Or must I multiply the Mcg X KG to find out how much they get per minute.

Im sorry I am not familiar with cardiac meds, but would like to be

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Specializes in CVICU.
Is there a quick way to knowif the dose I administer is therapeutic? Or must I multiply the Mcg X KG to find out how much they get per minute.

Im sorry I am not familiar with cardiac meds, but would like to be

if the infusion is running in mcg/kg/min you could multiply mcg by kg to get mcg/min. Not sure what that would do for you though? Some hospitals run certain gtts like epi, levo, or neo in mcg/kg/min and others do mcg/min. The therapeutic dose is the one that achieves the target hemodynamic parameters so there is no magic number. Let me know if that isn't what you were looking for.

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