Question

The health care provider prescribes IV therapy for a client with deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The prescription states: heparin sodium 20,000 units in 1,000 ml 0.9% sodium chloride IV to infuse at 1,000 units/hour via IV pump. How many ml per hour should be administered by the nurse to give the dose prescribed?

Answer 1

The nurse should administer 50 ml per hour of the prescribed dose.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the ml per hour that should be administered in this case, we need to use the prescription given. The prescription states that heparin sodium 20,000 units should be diluted in 1,000 ml of 0.9% sodium chloride IV solution. The dose should be infused at 1,000 units per hour. To find the ml per hour, we can set up a proportion. Let x be the ml per hour, then we can write:

((20,000 units) / (1,000 ml)) = ((1,000 units) / (x ml/hr))

Cross multiplying, we get:

(20,000 * x) = (1,000 * 1,000)

Simplifying further, we find:

x = (1,000 * 1,000) / 20,000

x = 50 ml/hr