Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 10 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
An ampoule of epinephrine (adrenaline) is labelled 1:1000 (1 mg/mL). The prescription is 0.3 mg IM for anaphylaxis. What volume V do you draw up?
A patient weighs 140.8 lb. The prescription is 0.5 mg/kg as a single dose, and the stock contains 10 mg in 1 mL. Using 1 kg = 2.2 lb, what volume V do you give?
Infuse 250 mL over 6 hours with a giving set of 20 gtt/mL. Find the drip rate R in drops per minute. Round to the nearest whole number.
A drip runs at 40 gtt/min through a set of 15 gtt/mL. There are 300 mL left in the bag. How many hours t until it is empty? Round to one decimal place.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A bag contains 12 500 units of heparin in 250 mL. The order is 16 units/kg/h for a patient who weighs 92 kg. At what rate R do you set the pump, in mL/h? Round to one decimal place.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A dobutamine infusion of 250 mg in 250 mL runs at 33 mL/h. The patient weighs 90 kg. What dose D in mcg/kg/min is the patient receiving? Round to one decimal place.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). The record shows a patient's intake and output for one 12-hour shift. The IV infusion ran at the rate shown for the whole shift. Find the fluid balance B = intake − output in mL (a negative answer means a net loss).
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 500 mL bag runs by pump at 100 mL/h. At 10:30, 50 mL have already been infused. How many hours t until the bag is empty? Round to one decimal place.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A drip-rate calculation gives 104.586 gtt/min. The rule in this exercise is that drip rates are rounded to the nearest whole drop. What value x do you record?
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A blood glucose result is 12.3 mmol/L. Using 1 mmol/L = 18 mg/dL for glucose, find c in mg/dL to the nearest whole number.
Answer: V = 0.3 mL
Solution strengths: a percentage strength is grams per 100 mL, so 1% = 1 g/100 mL = 10 mg/mL. A ratio strength 1:1000 means 1 g in 1000 mL = 1 mg/mL; 1:10 000 is 0.1 mg/mL. For a dilution the amount of drug stays the same: C₁·V₁ = C₂·V₂.
US labels now state mg/mL (1 mg/mL = 1:1000; 0.1 mg/mL = 1:10 000). Never give 1 mg/mL epinephrine IV push.
Answer: V = 3.2 mL
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: R = 14 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: 14 gtt/min.
Answer: t = 1.9 h
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.
Answer: R = 29.4 mL/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: D = 6.1 mcg/kg/min
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.
Answer: B = 765 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.
Positive: more fluid went in than came out.
Answer: t = 4.5 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 4 h 30 min, so the bag runs out at about 15:00.
Answer: x = 105 gtt/min
Rounding: look at the digit just after the place you round to: 5 or more rounds up, 4 or less leaves the digit as it is. Round only the final answer, never the steps. Typical exam rules: volumes of 1 mL or more to the nearest tenth, volumes below 1 mL to the nearest hundredth, drip rates to whole drops and weights to one decimal place; always follow the rule the question states.
Answer: c = 221 mg/dL
Dimensional analysis: write the given quantity, then multiply by conversion factors written as fractions (for example 60 min/1 h or 1 mg/1000 mcg) so that each unwanted unit appears once on top and once underneath and cancels. When only the wanted unit is left, calculate. Use the equivalents the question gives and round only the final answer.
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