Mind gone blank :/ help with calculations please :-)

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Hello everyone,

Okay so I seem to be having a blank moment, and can't seem to work out the answer to these calculations. I guess I just need a quick break down of how to work out the answer, and hopefully I will remember it all again.

1) For this question, I want to work out the mls per hour:

Epinephrine (Adrenaline)

5mgs (5mls) in 95mls of Dextrose 5% to run at 0.04mcg/Kg/min. (Patient weight= 65Kg)

2) If a patient is on lets say 10mls of Epinephrine (Adrenaline) an hour. How do I work out how many mcg/Kg/min is that (if there is 10mgs of Epinephrine in 90mls of Dextrose 5% and patient's weight is 95Kg)?

If anyone reading this is able to give me a mini tutorial on how to work the above answers, I would be forever grateful.

Thank you in advance, for taking the time to read this

:)

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

are you a student?

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yes i am Esme12:) Are you able to assist me with my question? x

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The better question is what have you worked out so far? We are happy to help on here, but will not do homework for you. If you give an idea of what you've already tried and where you're stuck, then that will give a better idea of how to help.

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Dear zipzip314

Thank you for your response. I suppose I should have added what I have thought to be correct, the reason I did not do so, was due to the fact of thinking it was completely wrong, as well as never encountering such calculations before, and wanting to learn about them. It was never my intention to have you doing the homework. sorry if that is how my post came across.

Also I am unable to find the calculation to establish the mls/hr, which adds to my confusion of not knowing where to commence.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Ok so first figure out how many mcgs you will be giving an hour.Then convert to mgs.Let us know how you make out.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

This may help......DosageHelp.com - Helping Nursing Students Learn Dosage Calculations

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This is what I have, which i'm certain it is wrong and thus feel silly for even posting it:unsure:

For my first question:

this is all i came up with:

0.04mcg x 65Kg x 60 =156 do I then divide the 156 (dose for this PT), by 5 mg and then multiply by 95 mls ?

This all sounds so wrong to me, even though at this stage I wouldn't even know if it is wrong or not.

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Dear Loriangel14

Am i correct to think I will need 156 mcg in an hour? Do i then divide 156 by 1000, which will give me 0.156 mg?

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

yes.....now you need find out how many mcg/ml you have available in the bag. Remember your conversions.

You have 5mg in 95ml. Now find how many mcgs.(5,000mcgs) how many mcg/ml?

5000 = 52.6 mcg/ml

95

and you need 156mcg/hr. How many ml/hr needs to infuse to equal 156?

156mcg/hr = 2.9ml/hr rounded to 3ml/hr

52.6mcg/ml

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Dear Loriangel14

Am i correct to think I will need 156 mcg in an hour? Do i then divide 156 by 1000, which will give me 0.156 mg?

Yep, you need 156 mcg/hr, so you're on thr right track. Next you need to figure out how many mcg you have per milliliter so that you can figure out your flow rate.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.
Dear Loriangel14

Am i correct to think I will need 156 mcg in an hour? Do i then divide 156 by 1000, which will give me 0.156 mg?

Correct. What do you think the next step will be?

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