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The healthcare provider prescribes dobutamine 6 mcg/kg/min IV for a client who weighs 140 pounds. The IV bag contains dobutamine 250 mg in 250 mL dextrose 5% in water (DW). How many mL/hr should the nurse program the infusion pump to deliver? (Enter numeric value only. If rounding is required, round to the nearest tenth.)
Answer and Explanation

The Correct Answer is ["22.9"]

First, let’s convert the client’s weight from pounds to kilograms since the dosage is prescribed in mcg/kg/min. We know that 1 kg is approximately 2.2 lbs. So,

Weight in kg =  140 lbs/2.2  ​≈ 63.64 kg

The prescribed dose is 6 mcg/kg/min. Therefore, the total dose for this client per minute would be:

Dose per minute=6 mcg/kg/min×63.64 kg = 381.84 mcg/min

We need to convert this to mcg/hr since we want the rate in mL/hr and our final concentration is in mcg/mL. There are 60 minutes in an hour, so:

Dose per hour = 381.84 mcg/min×60 = 22910.4 mcg/hr

The IV bag contains 250 mg of dobutamine in 250 mL of solution. This is equivalent to 250,000 mcg in 250 mL, or 1000 mcg/mL.

Finally, we can find the rate in mL/hr by dividing the dose per hour by the concentration:

Rate in mL/hr = 22910.4 mcg/hr  /  1000 mcg/mL ​ = 22.91 mL/hr

If rounding is required to the nearest tenth, the nurse should program the infusion pump to deliver 22.9 mL/hr.


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Related Questions

Correct Answer is ["120"]

Explanation

Here's how to calculate the rate (mL/hour) for the infusion pump to deliver lidocaine 4 mg/minute:

1. Lidocaine concentration:

The medication bag contains 1 gram of lidocaine in 500 mL of dextrose 5% in water.

Convert grams to milligrams: 1 gram = 1000 milligrams

Lidocaine concentration (mg/mL) = Total lidocaine (mg) / Volume (mL)

Lidocaine concentration (mg/mL) = 1000 mg / 500 mL

Lidocaine concentration (mg/mL) = 2 mg/mL (round to nearest whole number)

2. Prescribed lidocaine dose: 4 mg/minute (given)

3. We need to find the volume delivered per hour (mL/hour) to achieve the prescribed lidocaine dose (4 mg/minute) considering the concentration (2 mg/mL) in the bag.

Infusion rate (mL/hour) = Dose (mg/minute) x Minutes per hour / Concentration (mg/mL)

However, there's a mismatch in units between dose (mg/minute) and concentration (mg/mL).

To address this, we can convert the infusion duration (minutes) to hours to match the concentration units (mg/mL).

Conversion factor: 60 minutes/hour

Infusion rate (mL/hour) = Dose (mg/minute) x (60 minutes/hour) / Concentration (mg/mL)

Infusion rate (mL/hour) = 4 mg/minute * 60 minutes/hour / 2 mg/mL

Infusion rate (mL/hour) = 120 mL/hour (round to nearest whole number)

Therefore, the nurse should program the infusion pump to deliver approximately 120 mL/hour.

Correct Answer is ["0.8"]

Explanation

Here's how to calculate the volume (mL) of epoetin alfa the nurse should administer:

1. We know the following:

Prescribed dose: 8,200 units epoetin alfa (given)

Vial concentration: 10,000 units/mL (given from the label)

2. We need to find the volume (mL) to administer for the prescribed dose (8,200 units) considering the concentration (10,000 units/mL).

Volume to administer (mL) = Dose (units) / Concentration (units/mL)

Volume to administer (mL) = 8,200 units / 10,000 units/mL

Volume to administer (mL) = 0.82 mL (round to nearest tenth)

Therefore, the nurse should administer 0.8 mL of epoetin alfa subcutaneously.

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