Question

order: dobutamine 3 mcg/kg/min. pt weighs 140.8 lbs. avail: dobutamine 250 mg in 250 ml d5w. what is pump setting

Answer 1

The formula to calculate the infusion rate for inj dobutamine is

doctors advice in microgram x body weight in kg x 60 minutes

concentration

Here the doctors advice is 3mcg/kg/minute

Patient body weight is 140.8 lbs,to convert pounds to kilogram multiply with 0.453

so the weight in kg is 140.8 x 0.453 = 63.865 kg

To find the concentration,the dilution given is 250 mg of dobutamine in 250ml of D5W

The formula to find the concentration is mass / volume =250mg /250ml = 1mg/ml

to convert mg to mcg multiply with 1000 so the concentration is 1000mcg/ml

Now we can put all these values in the formula to find the rate

(3mcg x 63.865 x 60) / 1000 mcg = 11.48ml/hr

So the pump setting should be at 11.480 ml / hr