Question

A nurse is preparing to administer nitroglycerin 4 mcg/min by continuous IV infusion. Available is nitroglycerin 25 mg in 250 mL. of dextrose 5% in D5W. How many mL/hour should the IV infuse?

Answer 1

To determine the mL/hour for the IV infusion of nitroglycerin, you can use the formula C₁V₁ = C₂V₂. In this case, the IV should infuse 250 mL per hour.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the mL/hour for the IV infusion, we need to use the formula C₁V₁ = C₂V₂, where C₁ is the concentration of the nitroglycerin solution, V₁ is the volume to be infused, C₂ is the concentration of the available solution, and V₂ is the volume of the available solution.

In this case, the concentration of the nitroglycerin solution is given as 4 mcg/min, and the concentration of the available solution is 25 mg in 250 mL. We need to convert the concentration of the nitroglycerin solution to mg/mL by dividing 4 by 1000 (since 1 mg = 1000 mcg). This gives us a concentration of 0.004 mg/mL.

Using the formula C₁V₁ = C₂V₂, we can now calculate the volume to be infused (V₁):

V₁ = (C₂V₂) / C₁

Plugging in the values, we get:

V₁ = (0.004 mg/mL * 250 mL) / (0.004 mg/mL)

V₁ = 250 mL