Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 6 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
A family has a 2-year-old. Which advice about medicines at home is best?
A child with a head injury now has rising blood pressure, a falling heart rate and irregular breathing. What does this indicate?
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). An infusion of 100 units of regular insulin in 100 mL runs at 12 mL/h. How many units per hour D does the patient receive?
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient who weighs 90 kg has an order for nitroglycerin at 50 mcg/min. The bag contains 50 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 fluid balance B = intake − output in mL (a negative answer means a net loss).
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 1000 mL bag runs by pump at 60 mL/h. At 16:30, 550 mL have already been infused. How many hours t until the bag is empty? Round to one decimal place.
Answer: D · Lock all medicines away, out of reach and sight, in child-resistant containers
Toddlers explore by climbing and putting things in their mouths. Medicines should be locked away and put back immediately after use. Calling medicine sweets encourages children to take it on their own.
Answer: A · A late sign of raised intracranial pressure; an emergency
Hypertension with a widening pulse pressure, bradycardia and irregular respirations is Cushing's triad, a late sign of raised intracranial pressure and possible brain herniation. Immediate emergency treatment is needed.
Answer: D = 12 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 = 15 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: B = 925 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 = 7.5 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 7 h 30 min, so the bag runs out at about 00:00.
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