Question

The nurse needs to administer lidocaine HCl at 1.5 mg per minute. The medication is available as 500 mg in 100 mL of D5W. The nurse will set the intravenous (IV) infusion pump to deliver how many milliliters per hour?

Answer 1

To administer lidocaine HCl at 1.5 mg per minute, given a medication concentration of 5 mg/mL, the nurse will set the IV infusion pump to deliver 18 mL per hour.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse needs to administer lidocaine HCl at 1.5 mg per minute. Given that the medication is available as 500 mg in 100 mL of D5W, we first calculate the medication concentration per mL, then determine the infusion rate in mL per hour to provide the desired dose.

Calculations:

Medication concentration is 500 mg in 100 mL, which is 5 mg/mL. To administer 1.5 mg/min, we use the formula

Dose (mg/min) = Concentration (mg/mL) × Rate (mL/min)

Thus,

1.5 mg/min = 5 mg/mL × Rate (mL/min)

Rate (mL/min) = 1.5 mg/min ÷ 5 mg/mL

Rate (mL/min) = 0.3 mL/min

To find the rate in mL per hour, we convert minutes to hours:

Rate (mL/hour) = Rate (mL/min) × 60 min/hour

Rate (mL/hour) = 0.3 mL/min × 60 min/hour

Rate (mL/hour) = 18 mL/hour

Therefore, the nurse will set the IV infusion pump to deliver 18 mL/hour.