Question

A medication drip is ordered at 13 units/kg/hr. The patient weighs 50 kg. The medication is available in a concentration of 25,000 units/500 mL. The medication should be infused at _____ mL per hour.

Answer 1

To calculate the infusion rate, multiple the dosage by patient's weight to find the required units, then use a proportional relationship with the drug concentration to find the rate in mL/hr, which is 13 mL/hr for this patient.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the medication infusion rate, we first need to determine the total units of medication the patient requires per hour. This is done by multiplying the dosage ordered (13 units/kg/hr) by the patient's body weight in kilograms (50 kg). This results in a total of 650 units/hr. Next, we need to find out how many milliliters of the medication solution contain these required units.

The medication is available at a concentration of 25,000 units per 500 mL. Therefore, we establish a proportional relationship between the units of the medication and the volume to find the correct volume for the necessary dose: 25,000 units is to 500 mL as 650 units is to X mL. Solving for X gives us the rate at which the medication should be given, hence:

(25,000 units / 500 mL) = (650 units / X mL)

Solving for X yields:

X = (650 units * 500 mL) / 25,000 units

X = 13 mL/hr. Thus, the infusion pump should be set to 13 mL/hr.