Advanced Intravenous Calculations

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Advanced Intravenous Calculations
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What we already know

• Flow rate divide the total amount to be infused
  by the time to infuse the fluid (or use
  ratio/proportion)
• Drops per minute formula

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How to figure administration by concentration

• This means administering a certain concentration
  of drug per hour, minute or mL. What is the
  question asking???
• Figure the volume of fluid that contains the
  prescribed dose per minute
• Multiple the volume per minute to figure volume
  per hour
• Then use the gtts/minute formula

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Concentration by patient weight

• What is the question asking?
• Convert pounds to kilograms if necessary
• Figure the amount of drug per dose or day
• Figure the volume the drug is contained in
• Use the gtts/minute formula

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Figuring Infusion Time

• What is the question asking?
• What do you know?
• If you know the volume per hour
• Divide volume per hour into total volume
• You can also use the gtts/min formula
• Decimal or fractions of an hour must be changed
  to minutes

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Continuous Infusion of IV meds

• When you are to administer a stable amount of
  medication over time
• Units/hour
• Mcg/hour
• Mg/hour
• mL/hour
• What is the question asking you to do?

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Administration of medications by IV push

• Time over which this medication is administered
  is determined by the RN who is guided by agency
  policy and/or current pharmacology literature
• May give this med over several minutes but rarely
  in less that one minutes
• Dosage amount is figured by ratio/proportion
  method