Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 6 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
Which finding is expected in a healthy 4-month-old?
A baby born at 27 weeks has grunting, chest retractions and rising oxygen needs. Which treatment directly addresses the cause?
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A bag contains 20 000 units of heparin in 500 mL. The order is 14 units/kg/h for a patient who weighs 70 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 100 kg has an order for norepinephrine at 5 mcg/min. The bag contains 4 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). 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 16:15?
Answer: A · Holds the head steady when held upright, with little or no head lag
By about 4 months most infants have good head control with little head lag when pulled to sit. Sitting without support comes at about 6–8 months, pulling to stand at about 9 months and first words at about 12 months.
Answer: D · Surfactant given into the trachea
Respiratory distress syndrome in preterm babies is caused by surfactant deficiency. Exogenous surfactant given via the airway, with respiratory support such as CPAP, improves lung compliance. Antibiotics are often started too, because infection can look similar.
Answer: R = 24.5 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 = 18.8 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 = 625 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: V = 80 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.
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