RN Nursing · Medication Administration and Dosage Calculations · Practice question
An adolescent with meningococcal meningitis is receiving a continuous IV infusion of penicillin G which is prescribed as 20 million units in a total volume of 2 liters of normal saline every 24 hours The pharmacy delivers 10 million units/liter of normal saline How many mL/hour should the nurse program the infusion pump Enter numeric value only If rounding is required round to the nearest whole number
-
75 mL/hr
-
80 mL/hr
-
✓
83 mL/hr
-
90 mL/hr
Answer & explanation
Correct: 83 mL/hr
To calculate the infusion rate, the total volume to be infused over 24 hours must be determined. The prescription calls for 20 million units in a total volume of 2 liters (2000 mL) of normal saline over 24 hours. The pharmacy delivers the medication at 10 million units per liter, so 20 million units requires 2 liters total, confirming the total volume is 2000 mL. Dividing 2000 mL by 24 hours gives 83.33 mL per hour, which rounds to 83 mL per hour. The pump should be programmed to deliver 83 mL/hr. Common errors include using only 1 liter (one bag's volume) and dividing by 24, which would yield approximately 42 mL/hr, or failing to account for the full 2-liter total volume. Another mistake is not rounding correctly. Since the total prescribed volume is 2000 mL over 24 hours, the straightforward division 2000 ÷ 24 = 83.33, rounded to the nearest whole number, gives 83 mL/hr. The answer of 80 mL/hr is too low and 90 mL/hr is too high; 75 mL/hr would only be correct if a smaller volume were used. Accurate pump programming is essential in pediatric and neurological infections where consistent antibiotic levels are critical for treatment efficacy.
Practise Medication Administration and Dosage Calculations questions
Work through full question sets with instant rationales, timed exams, and progress tracking.
Start practising freeRelated practice questions
- The healthcare provider prescribes a continuous IV infusion of labetalol to be administered at 2 mg/minute. "Labetalol HCI Injection, USP 200 mg/40 mL is added to 160 mL of 5% Dextrose Injection, USP for a total volume of 200 mL." How many mL/hour should the nurse program the infusion pump? (Enter numerical value only.)
- The health care provider prescribes hydroxyzine pamoate 60 mg PO four times per day. The pharmacy provides hydroxyzine pamoate 25 mg/5 ml. How many mLs should the nurse administer to the client per dose? Record the answer as a whole number.
- A nurse is assisting with teaching a class about converting household measurements into metric measurements. Which of the following information should the nurse include?
- A patient with a PEG tube is to receive ferrous sulfate, 65 mg per the tube, daily. The medication is available as an elixir, 220 mg/5 ml. How many milliliters will the patient receive per dose? Record your answer using one decimal place.