Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 6 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
A child has tinea capitis (ringworm of the scalp). Which treatment is usually needed?
Which bedside check is recommended before each feed to confirm the position of a child's nasogastric tube?
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 88 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 97 kg has an order for norepinephrine at 6 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 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 75 mL/h. At 09:30, 100 mL have already been infused. How many hours t until the bag is empty? Round to one decimal place.
Answer: B · An oral antifungal medicine
Topical creams cannot reach the fungus in the hair shafts and follicles, so tinea capitis needs an oral antifungal for several weeks, sometimes with an antifungal shampoo to reduce spread.
Answer: A · Check that aspirate from the tube is acidic, using the pH limit in local policy
Testing the pH of aspirate is the recommended bedside check before each use in many guidelines (UK NHS guidance uses a pH of 5.5 or below). An X-ray is the most reliable method and is used to confirm initial placement in many settings, including most US hospitals, or when no suitable aspirate is obtained. The air "whoosh" and bubble tests are unreliable and can miss a tube in the lungs.
Answer: R = 13.2 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 = 11.3 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 = −505 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.
Negative: the patient lost more fluid than went in.
Answer: t = 12 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 12 h 00 min, so the bag runs out at about 21:30.
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