A client receives a prescription for oxytocin 2 milliunits/min intravenously (IV) for labor augmentation. The IV bag contains oxytocin 20 units in actated Ringer’s 1 liter. How many mL/hour should the nurse program the infusion pump to deliver? (Enter numerical value only.)
The correct answer and Explanation is :
To determine the correct infusion rate for administering oxytocin, we need to calculate how many milliliters per hour should be delivered based on the prescribed dose and the concentration of the solution.
Step-by-Step Calculation:
- Understand the Prescription:
- Dose prescribed: 2 milliunits per minute.
- Concentration in IV bag: 20 units of oxytocin in 1 liter (1000 mL) of Lactated Ringer’s solution.
- Convert Dose to Units per Hour:
- There are 60 minutes in an hour. So, to find the total dose in units per hour, multiply the dose in milliunits per minute by 60.
- 2 milliunits/minute × 60 minutes/hour = 120 milliunits/hour.
- Convert Milliunits to Units:
- Since there are 1000 milliunits in 1 unit, convert 120 milliunits to units.
- 120 milliunits ÷ 1000 = 0.12 units/hour.
- Determine the Concentration:
- The IV bag contains 20 units in 1000 mL. So, the concentration is 20 units/1000 mL, which simplifies to 0.02 units/mL.
- Calculate the Infusion Rate:
- To find the volume in mL that corresponds to the desired dose, divide the dose in units/hour by the concentration in units/mL.
- Infusion rate (mL/hour) = 0.12 units/hour ÷ 0.02 units/mL = 6 mL/hour.
Conclusion:
The nurse should program the infusion pump to deliver 6 mL/hour to administer the prescribed dose of 2 milliunits/minute of oxytocin.