Question

A nurse is preparing to administer esmolol 45 mcg/kg/min by continuous IV infusion for a client who weighs 59 kg. Available is esmolol 2,500 mg in 250 ml dextrose 5% in water (D5W). The nurse should set the IV pump to deliver how many ml/hr?

Answer 1

To find the correct IV infusion rate, the nurse must calculate the total medication needed based on the patient's weight, convert it into the appropriate measurement units, and then determine the flow rate based on the medication's concentration. In this scenario, the nurse should set the IV pump to 15.93 ml/hr.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking how to calculate the proper IV pump flow rate for administering a medication based on the patient's weight and the concentration of the medication solution. To calculate the IV infusion rate, first determine the total mcg of esmolol needed per minute for the client, then convert this to mg/hr, and finally use the concentration of the medication solution to find the flow rate in ml/hr.

First, calculate the total mcg of esmolol needed per minute for the client:

• 45 mcg/kg/min × 59 kg = 2655 mcg/min

Convert mcg/min to mg/hr (since there are 1000 mcg in a mg and 60 min in an hour):

• (2655 mcg/min) × (1 mg / 1000 mcg) × (60 min / 1 hr) = 159.3 mg/hr

Now that we have the dosage rate in mg/hr, we need to convert this to the flow rate in ml/hr using the concentration of the esmolol solution:

• (2500 mg / 250 ml) = 10 mg/ml
• 159.3 mg/hr × (1 ml / 10 mg) = 15.93 ml/hr

Therefore, the nurse should set the IV pump to deliver 15.93 ml/hr.