Question

The client has an order for nitroprusside (Nipride) 4 mcg/kg/min. The medication available is nitroprusside 250 mg/500 mL in 5% Dextrose. The client weighs 47 lb. At what rate will the nurse set the infusion? ___ mL/hr (If needed, round to the nearest tenth)

Answer 1

To find the infusion rate for nitroprusside (Nipride), first convert the patient's weight to kilograms. Multiply this by 60 to get the infusion rate in mL/hr, which is 10.3 mL/hr, rounded to the nearest tenth.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the infusion rate in mL/hr for a drug like nitroprusside (Nipride), we need to follow several steps:

• Convert the patient's weight to kilograms (1 kg = 2.2 lb).
• Calculate the patient's dose in mcg/min.
• Calculate the infusion rate in mL/hr using the concentration of the medication available.

First, we convert the weight:
47 lb × (1 kg / 2.2 lb) = 21.36 kg (rounded to two decimal places)

Next, we calculate the dosage required per minute:
21.36 kg × 4 mcg/kg/min = 85.44 mcg/min

Now, we need to calculate the volume of solution that corresponds to 85.44 mcg/min, given the concentration of the medication available (250 mg in 500 mL). We need to first convert the concentration to mcg/mL:

250 mg × 1000 mcg/mg = 250,000 mcg

250,000 mcg in 500 mL = 500 mcg/mL

To find out how many mL contain 85.44 mcg:

(85.44 mcg/min) ÷ (500 mcg/mL) = 0.17088 mL/min

To get the rate in mL/hr, multiply by 60:

0.17088 mL/min × 60 min/hr = 10.2528 mL/hr

The nurse will set the infusion pump to 10.3 mL/hr (rounded to the nearest tenth).