drug calcs

Question 1

how to do drop rates

Answer 1

total volume in mL x drop factor
divided by
time in hours x 60

e.g You are required to administer 500mL of Hartmanns’ solution over four hours using a 20 drops per mL giving set. What is the drop rate required?

500mL x 20 drops/mL = 10000 drops

4 hours x 60 minutes per hour = 240 minutes

10000 drops divided by 240 minutes = 41.6666 drops/minute (must be a whole number)

answer = 42 drops per minute.

Question 2

how to do infusion rates

Answer 2

volume in mL / time in hours

eg. A 1L bag is to be infused over 6 hours. Calculate how many mls
per hour the patient will receive?

a 1000ml infused over 12 hours
1000/ 12 = 83.3ml/hr rounded down to 83ml/hr

Question 3

how to do weight based calculations

Answer 3

weight (kg) x dosage ordered (per kg) which = what you want

what you want/ what you have x the amount

Question 4

5 medication rights

Answer 4

1. right patients
2. right dose
3. right time
4. right route
5. right drug

Question 5

how to convert from a smaller unit to a larger unit

Answer 5

divide by 1000

Question 6

how to convert from a larger unit to a smaller unit

Answer 6

times by 1000