Answer :
To calculate the new infusion pump rate for the increased dopamine dosage, first convert the patient's weight to kilograms, then calculate the total dosage in micrograms per minute. Find the concentration of dopamine in the medication solution and use it to determine how many milliliters per minute are needed. In this case, rounding led to an unfeasible infusion pump rate of 0 mL/min, indicating a possible calculation error.
The question requires the calculation of a new IV dopamine drip rate based on an increased dosage prescribed by a physician. First, we need to convert the patient's weight from pounds to kilograms by dividing 235 lb by 2.2 lb/kg, which equals approximately 106.82 kg. With the new dosage of 5 mcg/kg/minute, the total dosage per minute will be 5 mcg/kg imes 106.82 kg = 534.1 mcg/min.
Since we have a concentration of dopamine as 400 mg in 250 mL, we first convert 400 mg to mcg by multiplying by 1000, giving us 400,000 mcg in 250 mL. This means there are 400,000 mcg/250 mL, which simplifies to 1600 mcg/mL. Using this concentration, we need to find out how many milliliters per minute will supply 534.1 mcg. So, we divide the total mcg per minute by the concentration in mcg/mL: 534.1 mcg/min \/ 1600 mcg/mL = 0.334 mL/min.
To obtain the infusion pump rate, we round 0.334 to the nearest whole number, which is 0 mL/min. However, infusion pumps do not set to zero, indicating that an error might have occurred in the calculation.
