Question

The nurse is administering nafcillin 1 gram/ D5W 50 ml to infuse over 20 minutes. What rate (ml/ hour) will the nurse set the pump for the medication to infuse the time prescribed?

Answer 1

To find the infusion rate for nafcillin in D5W, convert the prescribed time to the same units as the desired infusion rate (ml/hour), and calculate as follows: 50 ml times the conversion factor of 60 minutes/hour, divided by 20 minutes, which equals 150 ml/hour.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking how to calculate the infusion rate for nafcillin 1 gram in D5W 50 ml to be administered over 20 minutes. To calculate this, we need to convert minutes to hours. Since there are 60 minutes in an hour, we will multiply the volume (50 ml) by the conversion factor (60 minutes/hour) and then divide by the time prescribed (20 minutes).

Infusion rate = (50 ml × 60 minutes/hour) / 20 minutes = 150 ml/hour.

Therefore, the nurse will set the pump to infuse at a rate of 150 ml/hour for the medication to be administered over the prescribed time.