Drug Calculations problem.

here it is:

ml/hr = 250ml/250mg x 400mcg/1min x 60min/1hr x 1mg/1000mcg = 24ml/hr

gtt/min - 250ml/250mg x 400mcg/1min x 60gtt/1ml x 1mg/1000mcg = 24gtt/min

The first step is to find the dose per pt weight, (5mcg/kg) so 5x80=400. So now you know that the dose is 400mcg per minute for this patient.

You can now figure this per hour, so 400 x 60 minutes = 24,000 mcg/hr.

To change this to mg/hr from mcg/hr, move the decimal point three places to the left (there are 1000 mcg in 1 mg), which gives you 24mg/hr.

You now need to change this dose/hr into volume/hr using the concentration of the fluid, which luckily in this case is 1mg:1ml, so 24mg/hr = 24 ml/hr.

At this point the correct answer is that you never run dobutamine without a pump using only a drip calculation, this isn't 1960.

But for random nursing history trivia purposes, if you were to figure for gtt/minute, you could just remember that a 60gtt/ml drip rate will be a 1:1 ratio of drips per minute to ml/hr, since to find the gtt/minute you will multiply the number of drops in a ml by the number of ml/hr, then divide that be 60 to get the number of drops per minute, (multiplying and then dividing by the same number cancels each other out, leaving you with the original number).