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Give patient 11.1 mg of dopamine in 123 mL of D5W to be infused at a rate of 5 mg/hr. Calculate the flow rate in ml/hr.

User Gomino
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Final answer:

To find the flow rate in ml/hr, take the total volume of the D5W (123 mL) and divide it by the total time for infusion (2.22 hours), resulting in a flow rate of approximately 55.41 ml/hr.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the flow rate in ml/hr for a patient who needs to be given 11.1 mg of dopamine in 123 mL of D5W with a prescribed infusion rate of 5 mg/hr, we use the following steps:

  • Determine the total amount of dopamine to be infused (11.1 mg).
  • Divide the total amount of dopamine by the infusion rate to get the total time for infusion: 11.1 mg / 5 mg/hr = 2.22 hours.
  • Divide the total volume of the D5W by the total time to find the flow rate: 123 mL / 2.22 hours ≈ 55.41 ml/hr.

Therefore, the flow rate would be approximately 55.41 ml/hr. This provides the correct amount of dopamine over the correct period.

To calculate the flow rate in ml/hr, we first need to convert the units of time. Since we want to determine the flow rate in milliliters per hour (ml/hr) and we know the rate is given in milligrams per hour (mg/hr), we need to convert the units of dopamine from milligrams (mg) to milliliters (ml).

Given that the infusion rate is 5 mg/hr, we can use the ratio of 11.1 mg of dopamine to 123 ml of D5W to find the flow rate. Setting up the proportion:

5 mg/hr = x ml/hr / 11.1 mg

Cross multiplying gives:

x ml/hr = (5 mg/hr * 11.1 ml) / (11.1 mg) = 5 ml/hr

Therefore, the flow rate in ml/hr is 5 ml/hr.

User Tom Finney
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