Question

The health care provider has prescribed an oxytocin infusion to begin at 1 mu/min and then increase by 1 mu/minute every 30 minutes until regular contractions begin. the maximum dose is 20 mu/min. the pharmacy provides a 500 ml bag of 5% dextrose in water with 25 units oxytocin. calculate the maximum dose rate of infusion in ml/h. round the answer to the nearest whole number, if applicable. ml/h use numbers only.

Answer 1

The maximum dose rate of oxytocin infusion is calculated based on the concentration in the bag provided by the pharmacy. The dosage conversion from mu/min to mu/h, followed by a proportion to find the ml/h, results in a rate of 960 ml/h.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the maximum dose rate of oxytocin infusion in ml/h, we start by recognizing that the available solution contains 25 units of oxytocin in 500 ml of 5% dextrose in water. With the maximum dosage of 20 mu/min prescribed, we first convert this rate to hours by multiplying by 60 (minutes per hour), which yields 1200 mu/h. Next, we need to determine how many milliliters correspond to this amount of oxytocin. We know that 25 units are in 500 ml, so we set up a proportion: (25 units/500 ml) = (1200 units/x ml), and solve for x.

We find that x = (1200 units * 500 ml) / 25 units. When calculated, this simplifies to x = (1200 * 500) / 25, which is x = 24000 / 25, equaling 960 ml/h. This is the infusion rate necessary to deliver the maximum dose of 20 mu/min of oxytocin. However, if the pharmacy protocols require rounding to the nearest whole number, the final maximum dose rate of infusion would be 960 ml/h.