Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 6 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
Why do young children with sickle cell disease usually take daily penicillin?
In England, a 15-year-old asks a nurse for contraception and does not want her parents told. Which principle applies?
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A bag contains 25 000 units of heparin in 250 mL. The order is 15 units/kg/h for a patient who weighs 76 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 patient who weighs 80 kg has an order for norepinephrine at 4 mcg/min. The bag contains 8 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 12-hour shift. The IV infusion ran at the rate shown for the whole shift. Find the total intake I in mL. Count ice chips as half their volume.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 500 mL bag was started at 09:15 and runs by pump at 60 mL/h. How many mL V are left in the bag at 14:45?
Answer: D · Poor spleen function puts them at high risk of pneumococcal infection
Repeated sickling damages the spleen early in life, making children vulnerable to encapsulated bacteria such as pneumococcus. Daily penicillin prophylaxis and full vaccination greatly reduce the risk of life-threatening infection.
Answer: C · She may consent herself if judged competent (Gillick and Fraser)
Under the Gillick case and Fraser guidelines, a young person under 16 who understands the treatment and its implications can consent to contraception. Staff encourage involving parents and assess for any safeguarding concerns.
Answer: R = 11.4 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: R = 7.5 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 = 1990 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: V = 170 mL
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.
ExamProblems · examproblems.com/courses/pediatric-nursing