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Therefore the calculation shows that, to give 30mg per hour, the infusion pump rate would need to be set at 6ml per hour. In this instance, work out how many ml contain ONE mg of drug These are the same as type A calculations, only once you have worked out the volume that contains the amount of drug you need, you set the pump to give that amount per hour. The use of simple, memorable formulae for regular reference can be a great help (Box 1).Īt what rate (ml/hr) do you set the pump? And when using long division it is essential to get it the right way round. The latest guidelines for the administration of medicines (UKCC, 2000) state that the use of calculators ‘should not act as a substitute for arithmetical knowledge and skill’.ĭeveloping calculation skills relies on understanding decimals to make conversion easier.
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The opinion of the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) (now the Nursing and Midwifery Council) is that nurses should not rely too heavily on calculators. Hutton (1998b) argues that calculators are usually available in areas where calculations are complex, and that their use should be encouraged. There is some debate over calculator use. Written accounts obtained from students in the study revealed that many felt unable to perform calculations such as long division and fractions without using a calculator, as they had come to rely on these at school. Her research into students’ competence in drug calculations demonstrated a marked improvement on initial test results after a structured revision programme. Hutton (1998a) suggests that a degree of ‘de-skilling’ has resulted from the increasingly user-friendliness of drug preparations and widespread use of electronic drip counters. Nursing competence in drug calculations has been a cause for concern (Duffin, 2000 Coombes, 2000). Wheatley et al (2001) call for routine use of pre-filled epidural infusion bags to avoid the risk of calculation error when ward staff prepare infusions. If given in too high concentrations, local anaesthetic used in epidural infusions can cause extensive motor blockade, leading to immobility and pressure ulcers, which is distressing to the patient (Lee, 1991). If opiates or, indeed, most drugs, have been calculated incorrectly, the consequences for patients can be serious.
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For example, ".3ml/kg." You may first have to convert your patient's weight from pounds to kilograms, then you calculate the total medication volume from there.Postoperatively, the epidural route is now common for infusions of opiate and local anaesthetic. How do you calculate medication dosage by weight?ĭosages are often listed by how much should be administered per unit of the patient's body weight. Some consider drip and infusion percentage calculations to be more dificult than calculations for solids, liquid oral and injections, so it's important to practice all types of dosage calculations through regular testing and assessment. Mistakes can put patients' lives at risk, so dosage calculations are a key part of patient safety. In order to provide safe nursing care and medication administration, you must calculate dosages correctly. Why are dosage calculations important to nurses? You must calculate, and often convert, the correct dosage to administer a patient. The volume and units that a medication order is written in, is rarely the same volume or units that you have on hand.
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Remember how hot dogs come in a package of 10 but hot dog buns come in a package of 8? Well, medication volumes and units can sometimes feel like that too - but the stakes are much higher. Dosage Calculation FAQs What is Dosage Calculation?