High School

JK is a 60-year-old male hospitalized for a total knee replacement. He was given unfractionated heparin and developed heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. Argatroban is ordered at a dose of 2 mcg/kg/min. The pharmacy provided the drug at 100 mg/250 mL D5W. JK weighs 187 lbs. At what rate (mL/hr) should the nurse infuse argatroban to provide the desired dose?

Answer :

The nurse should infuse argatroban at a rate of approximately 42.41 ml/hr.

To calculate the infusion rate of argatroban in ml/hr, we need to convert the weight of the patient from pounds to kilograms and then use the ordered dose to determine the infusion rate. Here are the steps:

1. Convert patient weight from pounds to kilograms:

187 lbs * (1 kg / 2.2046 lbs) = 84.82 kg (rounded to two decimal places)

2. Calculate the total dose per minute:

2 mcg/kg/min * 84.82 kg = 169.64 mcg/min

3. Convert the total dose from micrograms to milligrams:

169.64 mcg/min * (1 mg / 1000 mcg) = 0.16964 mg/min

4. Determine the infusion rate in ml/hr:

Since the pharmacy provided argatroban in a concentration of 100 mg/250 ml, we can set up a proportion:

0.16964 mg/min * (250 ml / 100 mg) * (60 min / 1 hr) = 42.41 ml/hr (rounded to two decimal places)

Therefore, the nurse should infuse argatroban at a rate of approximately 42.41 ml/hr to provide the desired dose for JK.

To know more about argatroban, refer here:

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