Question

The provider ordered a heparin bolus of 5,000 units iv followed by a heparin drip at 1,000 units per hour. the standard mixture of heparin is 25,000 units/500 ml of d5w. at what rate in milliliters per hour should the pump be set?

Answer 1

To determine the rate of the pump set, we can do dimensional analysis from the given values of the problem statement. We are given the following values:

Rate in units per hour = 1000 units per hour
Concentration of the mixture = 25000 units / 500 mL

We are asked to determine the rate in milliliters per hour. To do this, we simply evaluate the concentration in its lowest number possible. Then we divide the rate in units per hour with the concentration. The resulting units would be mL per hour.

25000 units / 500 mL = 50 units / mL
mL / hr = 1000 units / hr / 50 units / mL
mL / hr = 20 mL per hour