Another Medication Calculation Question

1. Dobutamine is available in 250mg of 250ml of solution. It is being administered at 15gtt/min. The patient weights 70kg.
   
   How many mcg per kg is the patient receiving per minute?
   
   I had this on a test today and couldn't figure it out.
2. 

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   Joined: Sep '05; Posts: 178; Likes: 166
   SRNA; from US
   Specialty: Anesthesia, CCRN, SRNA

   6 Comments

   Topic Closed
3. 
   Oct 10, '06

   What is the calibration on the tubing?
4. 
   Oct 10, '06

   It wasn't given
5. 
   Oct 10, '06

   17.86?
6. 
   Oct 10, '06

   what's the dose ordered 1mg/kg?
7. 
   Oct 10, '06

   are you sure you've remembered all the parts of this problem correctly? a solution of 250mg of dobutamine in 250ml of solution would be 1mg per 1ml, or 1000mcg per 1ml. (1 mg = 1000mcg) assuming that it is being given by microdrip tubing, which is how dobutamine is usually given, that would be 250mcg per minute (15 microdrops per 60 seconds reduces to 1/4 of 1000mcg). the ratio 250mcg per 70kg would be 4 mcg/kg of body weight per minute (rounded off). however, you're not supposed to assume anything. so, there is missing information here--like the kind of tubing being used.
8. 
   Oct 10, '06

   yeah, my answer had a left-over in the computation.
   
   1/70kg x 1000mcg/1mg x 250mg/200ml = 250,000/14,000 = 17.86
   
   however, the mls on the bottom are left over, not cancelled, and that tells me that there is something left out.

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