Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 6 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A practice protocol calls for a heparin bolus of 70 units/kg for a patient who weighs 110 kg. The vial contains 1 000 units/mL. What volume V do you draw up? Round to one decimal place.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A dopamine infusion of 400 mg in 250 mL runs at 15 mL/h. The patient weighs 82 kg. What dose D in mcg/kg/min is the patient receiving? Round to one decimal place.
A patient weighs 30 kg. The prescribed dose is 25 mg/kg per day, given in 3 equal doses. How many milligrams D are given per dose?
The prescription is 170 units of a drug that comes as 1000 units/mL. Draw up the dose in the 1 mL syringe: what volume V do you give?
A drip runs at 75 gtt/min through a set of 60 gtt/mL. How many millilitres V does the patient receive in 2 hours?
A bag contains 1 g of a drug in 250 mL. The order is 1.5 mg per minute. At what rate R do you set the pump, in mL/h?
Answer: V = 7.7 mL
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 = 4.9 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: D = 250 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 = 0.17 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.
On this 1 mL syringe every small line is 0.01 mL.
Answer: V = 150 mL
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 = 22.5 mL/h
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).
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