Question

A client is ordered heparin 5000 units at 7 am. The heparin is provided in a vial labeled 20,000 units per ml. How much does the nurse administer?

a) 0.25 ml
b) 0.5 ml
c) 1 ml
d) 2 ml

Answer 1

To administer the ordered dose of 5000 units of heparin, the nurse should use the concentration of the heparin provided (20,000 units/ml) to calculate the necessary volume, which comes to 0.25 ml.

Step-by-step explanation:

The calculation for determining how much heparin to administer is based on the concentration of the drug available and the dosage needed. Given that the heparin is supplied in a vial labeled 20,000 units per ml and the client is ordered 5000 units, we can set up a simple proportion to solve for the volume to administer:

(20000 units/1 ml) = (5000 units/x ml)

To solve for x, we multiply both sides by x and then divide both sides by 20000 units, which gives us:

x = (5000 units) / (20000 units/ml)

x = 0.25 ml

Thus, the correct answer is a) 0.25 ml. The nurse should administer 0.25 ml of heparin to deliver the ordered dose of 5000 units.