Question

A client is prescribed dopamine 8 mcg/kg/min. The client weighs 198 pounds. The dopamine available is 800 mg in 500 mL of D5W. What rate will you infuse this medication using an IV pump? (Place only the numerical value in the space provided.)

Answer 1

To calculate the rate at which dopamine should be infused using an IV pump, calculate the weight of the client in kilograms and then multiply it by the prescribed rate of dopamine. Then, using the available concentration of dopamine, convert the infusion rate from mcg/min to mL/hour.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the rate at which dopamine should be infused using an IV pump, we need to convert the weight of the client from pounds to kilograms. With a weight of 198 pounds, the client weighs approximately 89.9 kilograms. The prescribed rate of dopamine is 8 mcg/kg/min. Therefore, we can calculate the infusion rate as follows:

Infusion rate = 8 mcg/kg/min * 89.9 kg = 717.2 mcg/min

Since the available dopamine is in a concentration of 800 mg in 500 mL of D5W, we need to convert the mcg/min to mL/hour:

1 mg = 1,000 mcg

1 mL = 1,000 mcL

1 hour = 60 minutes

Therefore, the conversion is:

717.2 mcg/min * (1 mg / 1,000 mcg) * (1 mL / 800 mg) * (60 min / 1 hour) = 0.5394 mL/hour

So, the rate at which the dopamine should be infused using an IV pump is approximately 0.5394 mL/hour.