mercenarynurse

10 meq/hr peripheral and 20 meq/hr central line is the usual standard. yes boluses can kill, but I've also run in 40meq/100cc over 15 min x3 repeated doses (in codes) for severely hypokalemic patients - y'know to stop the VT and VF that I was shocking them for. The bigger question is why does it always have to be IV?? literature reports better absorption via the po route-and it's clearly a whole lot safer. Next time you might suggest the pharmacist clarify with the physician if you are uncomfortable addressing it with him/her yourself.