Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 10 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
A patient weighs 15 kg. The prescribed dose is 2 mg/kg per day, given in 2 equal doses. How many milligrams D are given per dose?
The prescription is 360 micrograms. The ampoule contains 1 mg/mL. Draw up the dose in the 1 mL syringe: what volume V do you give?
Infuse 500 mL over 8 hours with a giving set of 60 gtt/mL. Find the drip rate R in drops per minute. Round to the nearest whole number.
1000 mg of a drug is diluted in 500 mL and given by gravity through a set of 60 gtt/mL. The order is 40 mg per hour. Find the drip rate R in drops per minute.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). An infusion of 250 units of regular insulin in 250 mL runs at 15 mL/h. How many units per hour D does the patient receive?
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient who weighs 98 kg has an order for norepinephrine at 10 mcg/min. The bag contains 4 mg in 250 mL. Find the pump rate R in mL/h. Round to one decimal place.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). The record shows a patient's intake and output for one 8-hour shift. The IV infusion ran at the rate shown for the whole shift. Find the total intake I in mL.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 1000 mL infusion starts at 17:30 at 150 mL/h. After 4 hours the rate is changed to 60 mL/h and is not changed again. How many hours t after the start will the bag be empty? Round to one decimal place.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient’s temperature is 100.5 °F. Convert it to degrees Celsius T with °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9. Round to one decimal place.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). During a shift a patient takes 2 tsp of cough syrup, 4 tbsp of liquid supplement, 1 cup of tea, 6 fl oz of juice. Using the equivalents given, find the total oral intake V in mL.
Answer: D = 15 mg
Dose calculation: the amount to give equals what is prescribed divided by what you have, times the quantity it comes in: amount = (desired dose/stock strength) × stock volume. Always keep the units the same (convert g to mg, mg to mcg first) and check that the answer is sensible.
Answer: V = 0.36 mL
Drawing up a dose: volume = (prescribed dose/stock strength) × stock volume. Convert to the same units first, then check that the volume fits the syringe and lands on one of its graduations.
Answer: R = 63 gtt/min
Infusion rates: a pump is set in mL/h = volume/time in hours. A gravity drip is counted in drops per minute: gtt/min = volume (mL) × drop factor (gtt/mL)/time (min). The drop factor is printed on the tubing package: macrodrip sets deliver 10, 15 or 20 gtt/mL (blood sets often 10 gtt/mL in the US, 15 in the UK) and microdrip sets 60 gtt/mL. Always use the drop factor the question or package gives.
At the bedside you round to the nearest whole drop: 63 gtt/min.
Answer: R = 20 gtt/min
Dose-based infusions: concentration = amount of drug in the bag/bag volume. Pump rate (mL/h) = dose per hour/concentration, and dose per hour = mL/h × concentration. Convert per-minute doses to per-hour (× 60) and keep the mass units the same (1 g = 1000 mg, 1 mg = 1000 mcg).
Answer: D = 15 units/h
Heparin and insulin infusions: concentration = units in the bag/bag volume (units/mL). Pump rate (mL/h) = units per hour/concentration, and units per hour = mL/h × concentration. For a weight-based order, units/h = units/kg/h × weight first. A bolus volume = units needed/vial strength. The numbers are for practice only; at the bedside always follow local protocols and have high-risk doses double-checked.
Answer: R = 37.5 mL/h
Titrated drips: first find the concentration in mcg/mL (mg × 1000/mL). For a weight-based order, mcg/min = mcg/kg/min × weight. Then mL/h = mcg/min × 60/concentration. Working backwards, mcg/kg/min = mL/h × concentration/(60 × weight). The numbers are for practice only; at the bedside always follow local protocols and have high-risk doses double-checked.
The order is per minute for the whole patient, so the weight is not needed.
Answer: I = 930 mL
Intake and output: intake counts everything that goes in (oral fluids, IV infusions, IV medications and flushes, tube feeds); ice chips count as half their volume. Output counts urine, drains, vomit and other losses. Balance = total intake − total output; a negative balance is a net loss. The numbers are for practice only; at the bedside always follow local protocols and have high-risk doses double-checked.
Answer: t = 10.7 h
Infusion time: time (h) = volume to infuse (mL)/rate (mL/h); use the volume still left in the bag, not the bag size. Volume infused = rate × time. Convert decimal hours to hours and minutes with the fraction × 60 (0.5 h = 30 min, not 50 min). The numbers are for practice only; at the bedside always follow local protocols and have high-risk doses double-checked.
That is about 10 h 40 min, so the bag runs out at about 04:10.
Answer: T = 38.1 °C
Temperature: °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9 and °F = °C × 9/5 + 32. Subtract 32 before you multiply when going from °F, and add 32 after you multiply when going from °C. A quick check: 37 °C is 98.6 °F, and every 1 °C is 1.8 °F.
Answer: V = 490 mL
Household measures and weight: nursing exams use rounded equivalents: 1 teaspoon (tsp) = 5 mL, 1 tablespoon (tbsp) = 15 mL = 3 tsp, 1 fluid ounce (fl oz) = 30 mL = 2 tbsp, and 1 cup = 8 fl oz = 240 mL. For weight, 1 kg = 2.2 lb and 1 lb = 16 oz; for length, 1 inch = 2.54 cm. Set the conversion up so that the unit you do not want cancels out.
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