Nursing Dosage Calculation Question?

Question

Order: 150 mg IV push stat.

Supply: 250 mg/ 5 mL.

Rate: Not to exceed 50 mg/min.

Give _____ mL over _____ min.

Thanks for the help!

Answer 1

First, figure out how many mL you are going to need:

150mg/250mg = .6 (think of this as 60% of the volume or .6*the volume)

.6*5mL = 3mL

so now you have 150mg/3mL, which is 50 mg/mL. So the max you can give in a minute is 1 mL.

ANS: Give 3mL over 3min.

p.s. An easier way to do the first part is to just make a proportion (150mg/ XmL = 250mg/ 5mL), solve for X and you will get 3mL.