Question

The client has an order for nitroprusside (Nipride) 1 mcg/kg/min. The medication available is nitroprusside 50 mg/500 mL in 5% Dextrose. The client weighs 210 lb. At what rate will the nurse set the infusion? ___ mL/hr (If needed, round to the nearest whole number)

Answer 1

To calculate the infusion rate of nitroprusside for the client, we need to convert their weight from pounds to kilograms and use the medication concentration. The nurse should set the infusion rate to 57 mL/hr.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the rate at which the nurse should set the infusion for nitroprusside, we need to convert the client's weight from pounds to kilograms. The client weighs 210 lb, which is approximately 95.45 kg. The desired infusion rate is 1 mcg/kg/min, so the nurse needs to administer 95.45 mcg/min to the client.

The medication available is nitroprusside 50 mg/500 mL in 5% Dextrose. To convert the medication concentration to mcg/mL, we multiply the concentration by 1000, since 1 mg = 1000 mcg. Therefore, the medication concentration is 50,000 mcg/500 mL or 100 mcg/mL.

To calculate the infusion rate in mL/hr, we can use the formula:

Infusion rate (mL/hr) = Desired dose (mcg/min) / Medication concentration (mcg/mL)

Plugging in the values:

Infusion rate = 95.45 mcg/min / 100 mcg/mL = 0.9545 mL/min

Since we need the answer in mL/hr, we multiply the infusion rate by 60:

Infusion rate = 0.9545 mL/min * 60 min/hr = 57.27 mL/hr

Rounding to the nearest whole number, the nurse should set the infusion rate to 57 mL/hr.